"無法無天"溫莎堡,英國女王心愛的天鵝慘遭燒烤
One of the Queen’s swans was apparently barbecued and left on a river bank near Windsor Castle, an animal charity has said.
一家動物慈善機構稱，有人把女王的一隻天鵝燒烤了，還把殘餘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，專門負責照顧生病和受傷的鳥類。她說這令人作嘔的一幕就發生在週日下午。'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：“這裏只剩一具殘骸，其餘全被燒光了。我們可以看到幹這事的人把天鵝開膛破肚，大概是爲了吃肉，把裏面掏得乾乾淨淨。那些人還扒了天鵝的皮，用一次性燒烤器具將這隻鳥兒就地烤熟。”
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麼死的，有可能是被槍射中，也有可能是被打死的。怎麼會有人做得出這種事，還把它留在了那裏？幸好我沒有帶着我兒子來這裏散步，要是他看見這一場景，我真不知道該怎麼辦。竟然有人能做出這種事，真讓我覺得噁心。”The charity worker said she was called to the river bank by a council warden who discovered the swan’s remains on Sunday.
這位慈善機構工作者說，週日她接到議會看守人的電話，說他在河邊發現了天鵝屍體，讓她趕快過來。The bird is believed to have been killed on Saturday evening.
天鵝應該是在週六晚上就被殘害了。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爲是王室的財產，殺死它們是一種大不敬的行爲。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.'
泰晤士河谷警方發言人說：“泰晤士河谷警察局在8月18日夜裏12:38分接到溫莎-梅登黑德皇家自治市鎮一個看守人的報案，說他發現一具被殺死燒焦的天鵝屍體，目前警方正在調查此事。”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，皇室是這些鳥兒的擁有者，屠殺和傷害天鵝會被歸類爲叛國罪。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.
幾個世紀以前，人們認爲天鵝肉很美味，在宴會上通常會有這道菜。但自1981年《野生動物和鄉村法》頒佈後，天鵝被列爲保護動物。
