逃離湯鍋命運 韓國小狗在美國找到新家

WONJU, South Korea — On a farm nestled between hills of chestnut and acorn trees, the aging Spitz has had an easy life. She follows her owner, Gong In-young, everywhere. And he dotes on the dog, whose name is Snow White.

韓國，原州――長滿栗子樹與橡樹的小山之間坐落着一片農場，一隻上了年紀的銀狐犬在這裏過着愜意的生活。主人孔仁英（Gong In-young，音）走到哪裏，她就跟到哪裏。他也非常寵愛這條名叫“白雪公主”的狗。

Yet on his farm in a valley southeast of Seoul, Mr. Gong, 55, also raises dogs for their meat.

但是，在這座位於首爾東南方山谷裏的農場，55歲的孔仁英還飼養着肉用狗。

Locked up in steel cages their entire lives, the Animals are fed with discarded food Mr. Gong collects from restaurants in nearby towns until they are ready to be sold to the slaughterhouse, 200 to 300 each year.

它們一生被鎖在鋼籠子裏，吃的是孔仁英從附近鎮上飯館收集來的殘羹剩飯，最後會被賣到屠宰場去。孔仁英每年要賣出200到300條狗。

Referring to the lives of Snow White and the dogs raised for meat, he admits, “It’s the difference between heaven and hell.”

他承認，“白雪公主”的生活和這些肉用犬的生活“就像天堂和地獄的區別”。

Mr. Gong recently struck a deal with Humane Society International, an animal-rights group that has begun a campaign against dog farms in South Korea. It is offering financial incentives to farmers — $2,000 to $60,000 depending on the number of dogs involved — who give up their animals to be adopted as family pets in the United States and elsewhere and switch to other livelihoods, like growing pepper or blueberries. Since last year, the group says it has shut down five farms.

孔仁英最近和國際人道對待動物協會(Humane Society International)簽署了協議，這個動物權利組織發起了一場反對韓國肉狗養殖場的行動，向養殖場主提供經濟獎勵（根據狗的數量，可在2000美元到6萬美元內不等），鼓勵他們放棄養狗，讓這些狗可以被美國或其他地方的人收養爲家庭寵物，場主則可以轉換謀生手段，比如種植辣椒或藍莓。去年以來，這家組織稱已經關停了五家養殖場。

Mr. Gong agreed to free his 260 dogs only weeks before many of them were scheduled to die.

孔仁英同意釋放自己的260條狗，按照原計劃，再過幾個星期，其中有不少就要被送去屠宰了。

It is difficult to measure the global dog-meat trade, an industry that is deplorably regulated. Animal rights groups estimate that 30 million dogs, mostly stolen or feral, are killed each year for their meat in Asia, in countries such as China and Vietnam.

全球狗肉貿易的監管十分混亂，其規模如何很難測算。動物權利組織估計，在亞洲的中國和越南等國，每年有3000萬條狗被宰殺食用，其中大部分是盜竊而來的狗或流浪犬。

South Korea has industrialized its dog-meat trade. Each year, more than 17,000 dog farms, some of them raising more than 1,000 animals each, supply 2 million dogs to meet the country’s centuries-old appetite for dog meat, according to government data.

韓國的狗肉貿易已經產業化。根據政府數據，全國有超過1.7萬家食用犬養殖場（有的狗場每家畜養肉狗超過1000條），每年出產200萬條食用犬，延續着韓國有幾百年歷史的吃狗肉傳統。

In Mr. Gong’s warehouselike complex of cages, visitors walk into a deafening cacophony. Huskies, Rottweilers, golden retrievers and other breeds bark and paw at the wires. Retired Tosa fighting dogs lie listlessly, some with their snouts badly mangled. Below the cages, feces piles up, creating an overpowering odor.

走進孔仁英倉庫般的籠舍，犬吠聲震耳欲聾。哈士奇犬、羅威納犬、金毛尋回犬和其他犬種的狗吠叫着，用爪子抓着鐵絲籠子。退役的土佐鬥犬無精打采地躺着，有幾條狗口鼻嚴重受傷。籠子底下是成堆的狗糞，散發出強烈的臭味。

Dog traders visit these farms to buy animals when the summer’s dog-eating season approaches. At current rates, an 80-pound dog goes for $250. They transport the dogs in cages so crowded they can barely move or even suffocate before they arrive at slaughterhouses for electrocution.

夏天的狗肉季一到，狗肉販子就會到這些養殖場來買狗。根據當下的行情，一條80磅重的狗可以賣到250美元（約合每公斤45元人民幣）。這些狗被裝進籠子裏運輸， 籠子塞得滿滿的，它們無法移動，甚至無法呼吸。活着送到屠宰場的狗會被電擊而死。

From the slaughterhouse, wholesale meat dealers supply the carcasses to back-alley dog-meat restaurants, where customers, many of them older men, enjoy a hot bowl of vegetables, spicy condiments and shredded dog meat.

狗肉批發商把屠宰場宰好的犬隻賣給小巷裏的狗肉館，那裏的食客中有不少是年紀較大的男性，他們來到這裏，享用一碗由蔬菜、辛辣調料和狗肉絲做成的熱湯。

“Dog is raised and supplied just like cabbage is,” Mr. Gong said.

“狗養大之後被買賣，就像捲心菜一樣，”孔仁英說。

Koreans call the dog dish “bosintang,” or “soup good for your body.” It became popular when the nation was destitute and meat was scarce.

韓國人把狗肉湯稱爲“補身湯”。在這個國家非常貧窮、肉類匱乏的年代，這種湯開始流行起來。

Koreans are fiercely proud of their culinary history. Even those who shun dog meat often bristle at foreigners who criticize the practice; to them, eating snails is unthinkable and force-feeding ducks to produce foie gras cruel.

韓國人對自己的飲食歷史非常自豪。就算不吃狗肉的人聽了外國人批評他們這個傳統，也會大爲光火；對他們來說，吃蝸牛是不可想象的，爲了鵝肝對鵝進行強制填喂更是殘忍。

But as South Korea has become wealthier, its tastes and attitudes toward animals has changed. Keeping pets has become more commonplace. Television programs on raising companion animals or rescuing abused dogs are popular. In parliamentary elections in April, one small party championed animal rights.

但是隨着韓國變得富裕起來，人們的品味以及對待動物的態度也在發生變化。飼養寵物已經成了常事。電視裏關於伴侶動物以及拯救遭受虐待的狗的節目很受歡迎。在4月的議會選舉中，一個小黨派呼籲保護動物權利。

Increasingly South Koreans, especially the younger generation, find the idea of eating dog meat appalling.

韓國人，特別是年輕一代，愈來愈覺得吃狗肉是件可怕的事。

“Grandpa strokes my poodle on his lap and says, ‘This is just the right size for a bowl of bosintang,’ ” said Kim , 14, who recently visited a pet accessory store in Seoul with his mother. “He’s joking, but whenever he says that, I snatch my dog from him.”

“爺爺抱着我的貴賓犬說，‘大小剛好夠做一碗補身湯，’”14歲的金(Kim)說。他最近和媽媽一起去了首爾的一家寵物用品店。“他是開玩笑的，但是每次他這麼說，我就會把狗從他手裏搶回來。”

Animal rights groups hope the campaign to free more dogs will boost public awareness about the animals’ plight ahead of the Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018, when the country will be more sensitive to its international image.

動物權利組織希望解救更多肉用犬的行動能夠在2018年韓國冬季奧運會之前提升公衆對這些狗的悲慘處境的認識，屆時韓國會對自身的國際形象更加在意。

“There is widespread public ignorance about the dogs bred for meat — the myth that these dogs are somehow different from ‘normal dogs’ has fostered a societal indifference to their suffering,” said Wendy Higgins, a Humane Society International spokeswoman.

“人們對飼養的肉用犬持有普遍的漠視態度，他們的誤區是，這些狗和‘普通狗’是不一樣的，這種想法造成了社會對這些狗的痛苦抱着冷漠態度，” 國際人道對待動物協會發言人溫迪·希金斯(Wendy Higgins)說。

“Our experience at all farms has shown that every breed of dog imaginable is found on a dog meat farm, including the pure breeds that are popular as companions,” she said.

“我們在所有養殖場的經驗表明，任何品種的犬類都可以在肉狗養殖場找到，包括普遍作爲伴侶動物的純種犬，”她說。

Mr. Gong said he had moved into this valley southeast of Seoul to breed special-purpose animals, like guide dogs for the blind, after his music cafe in Seoul went bankrupt in the 1990s. Oversupply and plummeting prices for specialty dogs forced him to sell the animals for meat. Ten years ago, he began to raise dogs for meat full time.

孔仁英說，20世紀90年代，他在首爾經營的音樂咖啡屋倒閉，於是他就搬來這個位於首爾東南的山谷，原本是飼養導盲犬等特殊用途動物。後來這些特殊犬供過於求，價格暴跌，他只得把它們賣做肉用。10年前，他開始全職飼養肉用狗。

“I am not particularly proud of eating dog meat, but I don’t think it’s something we should be ashamed of either,” he said. “No nation should be criticized for its food.”

“我並不爲吃狗肉感到特別驕傲，但我也不覺得這有什麼可恥的，”他說。“任何國家都不應當爲自己的飲食習俗遭受批評。”

Andrew Plumbly, a Humane Society International campaigner, said, “Culture is never an excuse for cruelty.”

人道對待動物協會工作人員安德魯·普朗布里(Andrew Plumbly)則說：“文化不是殘忍的藉口。”

When the two sides met recently, they found common ground.

雙方最近見面之後，找到了共識。

Mr. Gong saw no long-term future for his trade. Surveys show that most South Koreans now eat chicken, beef or pork instead of dog meat on boknal, days when they traditionally eat food they believe helps beat the summer heat. None of the young people Mr. Gong knew, including his son, would touch dog meat. He said the image of dog farms was “not good.”

孔仁英認識到，他所從事的行業遠景並不美妙。傳統上，韓國人習慣在伏天吃他們認爲能夠消暑的食物，但調查顯示，如今韓國人在這幾天往往不再吃狗肉，而是吃雞肉、牛肉或豬肉。孔仁英認識的年輕人裏沒有人吃狗肉，包括他的兒子。他說，肉狗場的形象“不怎麼好”。

On a recent day, Mr. Gong saw off 17 of his dogs, the latest batch to be flown to the United States under the deal with the animal protection group. He said he “felt better” when he saw pictures of the dogs living happily as family pets abroad. He said he might try growing mushrooms now.

前不久，孔仁英送走了17條狗。這是最新一批根據與人道對待動物協會的協議用飛機送往美國的狗。他說，在照片上看到這些狗在海外成了家庭寵物，過着幸福生活，自己“感覺好多了”。他還說，從現在起可能會嘗試種蘑菇。

“I was not ashamed of my way of making a living, but I was not proud of it either,” he said, gazing at the dogs still held in cages while they were vaccinated and awaited flights out of South Korea. “No one would do this if he could avoid it.”

“過去我並不爲自己的謀生方式感到恥辱，但也並不爲它感到自豪，”他望着那些仍然鎖在籠子裏的狗說。它們正接受疫苗注射，等待乘飛機離開韓國。“如果有別的辦法，沒有人願意做這一行。”