» 英國女王的天鵝被吃了!
 One of the Queen’s swans was apparently barbecued and left on a river bank near Windsor Castle, an animal charity has said。一家動物慈善機構(gòu)稱,有人把女王的一只天鵝燒烤了,還把殘余物留在了溫莎城堡的河岸上。
  Wendy Hermon, 46, of the charity Swan Lifeline which cares for sick and injured birds, said she discovered the 'sickening' scene on Sunday afternoon.46歲的溫迪·赫爾蒙來自“天鵝生命線”慈善機構(gòu),專門負(fù)責(zé)照顧生病和受傷的鳥類。她說這令人作嘔的一幕就發(fā)生在周日下午。
  'It was just a carcass, it was all burnt. We could see that whoever did this had taken the breast out,' she said. 'It was done neatly, presumably to get at the meat. They had skinned it as well and possibly barbecued it there, on a disposable barbecue. 她說道:“這里只剩一具殘骸,其余全被燒光了。我們可以看到干這事的人把天鵝開膛破肚,大概是為了吃肉,把里面掏得干干凈凈。那些人還扒了天鵝的皮,用一次性燒烤器具將這只鳥兒就地烤熟。”
  We have no idea how it was killed, it could have been shot or beaten. How can someone do that and leave it where they did? I would have been devastated if I had been walking along there with my little boy and he had seen that. It just sickens me that there are people out there that do things like that.'“我們不知道天鵝是怎么死的,有可能是被槍射中,也有可能是被打死的。怎么會有人做得出這種事,還把它留在了那里?幸好我沒有帶著我兒子來這里散步,要是他看見這一場景,我真不知道該怎么辦。竟然有人能做出這種事,真讓我覺得惡心!
  The charity worker said she was called to the river bank by a council warden who discovered the swan’s remains on Sunday。這位慈善機構(gòu)工作者說,周日她接到議會看守人的電話,說他在河邊發(fā)現(xiàn)了天鵝尸體,讓她趕快過來。
  The bird is believed to have been killed on Saturday evening。天鵝應(yīng)該是在周六晚上就被殘害了。
  All wild mute swans in Britain are considered to be the property of the Crown and it is an offence to kill one。英國所有的野生疣鼻天鵝都被認(rèn)為是王室的財產(chǎn),殺死它們是一種大不敬的行為。
  A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: 'Thames Valley Police is investigating a theft following a report at 12.38pm on August 18 by a Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council warden who had found a swan. The swan had been killed and burnt.'泰晤士河谷警方發(fā)言人說:“泰晤士河谷警察局在8月18日夜里12:38分接到溫莎-梅登黑德皇家自治市鎮(zhèn)一個看守人的報案,說他發(fā)現(xiàn)一具被殺死燒焦的天鵝尸體,目前警方正在調(diào)查此事!
  Killing or injuring a swan used to be classed as treason under a law dating back to the 12th century when the Crown claimed ownership of the birds。如果是在12世紀(jì),皇室是這些鳥兒的擁有者,屠殺和傷害天鵝會被歸類為叛國罪。
  Centuries ago, their meat was considered a delicacy and was served at banquets. Swans now have statutory protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.幾個世紀(jì)以前,人們認(rèn)為天鵝肉很美味,在宴會上通常會有這道菜。但自1981年《野生動物和鄉(xiāng)村法》頒布后,天鵝被列為保護動物。