最近，美国一家动物园的一个举动，把新西兰人惹怒了……原来，为了增加营收，这家动物园允许游客在付费后尽情抚摸园中的唯一一只新西兰“国鸟”——几维鸟（kiwi）。
综合BBC、《卫报》报道，近日，美国迈阿密一家动物园因粗暴对待新西兰国鸟几维鸟，遭到新西兰民众谴责，他们还发起请愿要求将国鸟送回家。该动物园24日正式向新西兰道歉。此事引发外媒关注。
The treatment of a kiwi at a Miami zoo has enraged thousands of New Zealanders, who launched a furious campaign to bring their national bird home and prompted the zoo to apologise.
BBC：迈阿密动物园为虐待标志性的几维鸟道歉
BBC报道截图
《卫报》：“我们冒犯了一个国家”：迈阿密动物园对待几维鸟的方式激怒了新西兰
《卫报》报道截图
据《卫报》报道， 2019年，作为新西兰政府旨在确保几维鸟物种生存的繁殖计划的一部分，几维鸟宝拉（Pāora）在美国迈阿密的这家动物园被孵化。
Pāora was hatched in Zoo Miami in 2019 as part of a breeding programme aimed at ensuring the kiwi species' survival.
今年3月，迈阿密的这家动物园为了增加营收，开始向游客收取约24美元的“邂逅几维鸟”费用。
网友发布的“邂逅几维鸟”购票网页截图
据《卫报》报道，在该动物园于社交媒体上发布的一段视频中，只见在一个明亮的环境中，一名饲养员抱着宝拉，挠着它的头，向游客展示着它。这位饲养员还对游客说：“它喜欢被抚摸（being pet），就像小狗，喜欢你摸它的头。”
The zoo had begun charging guests about US$24 for a “kiwi encounter” to meet the bird. In a video posted to the zoo’s social media, a handler cuddles Paora, scratching his head and showing him off to a group of visitors, who feed him worms. “He loves being pet, he’s like a little dog and he loves his head being pet,” they say.
饲养员在摸宝拉时看起来很用力，宝拉的头被越压越低，紧紧闭着眼……
“它喜欢躲在黑暗的地方。” 饲养员说着，把宝拉放到院子里，只见它向着小木箱跑去。
“它一定要等到天黑以后，再钻进箱子（And he’ll stand there until it gets dark before he goes in the box）。” 饲养员把木箱的盖子关上，“你等个五秒钟，然后……奇迹出现啦（And you wait like 5 seconds and as if magic he’ll be）！”
只见他把木箱的盖子掀开，里面是茫然的宝拉，围观的游客们发出一阵笑声……
饲养员还介绍说，只有在这家动物园游客才能和几维鸟近距离接触：“你去别的地方看几维鸟很难看清楚，它们不适合展出，这也是为什么我们办这种VIP的体验活动，因为在别处你们没法跟它们近距离接触。”
“Most time when you go see kiwi exhibits, it’s really hard to see them. They’re not very good exhibit animals…And that’s why we do these VIP experiences, because you’re never going to get to really see him up close.”
据报道，几维鸟生活在新西兰岛上，由于翅膀退化，丧失了飞行能力。它们喜欢隐居和在夜间活动。
夜间出来觅食的几维鸟，图源：BBC截图
Reclusive and nocturnal, kiwis are beloved in New Zealand to the point that the flightless, rotund, nocturnal ground-dweller has become the country’s national icon.
Kiwi are endangered, with only around 70,000 of the birds left in New Zealand and, therefore, in the world, according the country's Department of Conservation (Doc).
然而，就是这样一种珍稀国宝，却被美国一家动物园拿来给游客“撸毛”、拍照……
23日，动物园的这条视频在TikTok和推特上被网友大量转发，新西兰人看到后立刻怒了……
一位新西兰野生动物摄影师怒发数条推特，呼吁大家关注此事。
“这只可怜的几维鸟在迈阿密动物园遭受的待遇令人震惊。我很生气。它明明是夜间动物，他们却非要让它在白天保持清醒。当它躲到黑暗的木箱里时，他们又要把盖子掀开。看着国宝被如此对待好伤心。”
“只需要花23.36美元，迈阿密动物园就准许你*扰这只夜间活动的、濒危的几维鸟，强迫它呆在人造灯下忍受人类的抚摸。这只几维鸟的动物福利太差了，我真的好难过。＠新西兰自然保护部 你们做点什么，救救这只几维鸟。”
“告诉各位，如果大家在新西兰的动物园看几维鸟，几维鸟会住在一个完全黑暗的房间里，这是为了照顾它夜间活动的习性。所有游客都会保持安静，没有人会去敲玻璃窗。几维鸟是我们的国家宝藏。”
她的推特下，许多网友表示心疼，纷纷呼吁新西兰政府关注此事。
“我真的看不下去了。＠新西兰自然保护部 快点去阻止他们，不要折磨我们的国宝。”
“简直太残忍了，有人能救救这个小家伙吗？”
也有不少网友直呼，应该把宝拉接回新西兰。
“太残忍了……请把这只几维鸟接回新西兰。”
“把它送回来！它属于新西兰！它是稀有物种！把它送回来！”
“太让人痛心了！请把这只几维鸟送回家，还给我们！”
还有网友呼吁，应该向中国学习：
“我们或许应该学学中国，他们正式保留所有圈养大熊猫的所有权，只把它们借给海外动物园。”
据《卫报》报道，当天，一位网友看完视频立即发起了一项“拯救这只被虐待的几维鸟”的请愿活动，称它“每周4天被放在明亮的荧光灯下，被几十个陌生人摆弄，抚摸它敏感的胡须，被嘲笑，像玩具一样被炫耀”。
One viewer immediately launched a petition to “Help Save This Mistreated Kiwi,” arguing that he was “subjected to bright fluorescent lighting 4 days a week, being handled by dozens of strangers, petted on his sensitive whiskers, laughed at, and shown off like a toy”.
在不到一天的时间里，这项请愿活动就有超过9000人签名。还有一些网友向动物园发送电子邮件，另一些人则呼吁新西兰总理克里斯·希普金斯（Chris Hipkins）直接与美国大使对话并对此事进行干预。
23日，新西兰自然保护部介入此事，发表了一份声明，写道：“我们要感谢所有对迈阿密动物园的几维鸟宝拉表示担忧的人”，并表示该部门将“与美国动物园和水族馆协会讨论这一情况”。
Within less than a day, more than 9,000 people had signed. Others launched an email campaign to the zoo, with some calling for prime minister Chris Hipkins to speak directly to the US ambassador and intervene. New Zealand’s department of conservation stepped in on Tuesday, saying a statement “We would like to thank everyone who has raised concerns about Paora, the kiwi at Miami zoo”, and that the department would be “discussing the situation with the American Association of Zoos & Aquariums”.
新西兰自然保护部推特截图
不到24小时后，动物园将宝拉安置回了它喜欢的黑暗环境中。园方还承诺，虽然宝拉不会被送回新西兰，但园方将立即取消“邂逅几维鸟”项目，宝拉也不会再暴露在荧光灯下。
Less than 24 hours later, Paora was returned to darkness. While the bird would not be repatriated to New Zealand, the “kiwi encounter” would be ended immediately, and Paora no longer exposed to fluorescent lights, the zoo said.
24日，动物园发言人罗恩·马吉尔在接受新西兰国家广播电台采访时承认，动物园“犯了一个巨大的错误”。他表示，在收到大量投诉后，“我立即去找动物园园长，告诉他，我们冒犯了一个国家。”
On Wednesday, zoo spokesperson Ron Magill said the zoo had “made a huge mistake here”. After receiving a flood of complaints, “I immediately went to the zoo director, and I said, we have offended a nation,” he said in an interview on broadcaster Radio NZ.
动物园发言人罗恩·马吉尔接受采访道歉，@1NewsNZ视频截图
发言人还表示，园方的游客付费项目“构思不佳”，“是我们做错了”，并说，“我们向你们保证，公众永远不会再接触宝拉。”
A zoo spokesman said that the paid visitor encounter had been "not well conceived", adding "we were wrong".
"We give you our word that the public will never handle Pāora again," said communications director Ron Magill.
当天晚些时候，新西兰总理希普金斯对这一事件发表了看法，称这“表明许多新西兰人在海外时以我们的国鸟为荣”。
Later that day, prime minister Chris Hipkins weighed in on the incident, saying it “shows a lot of Kiwis take pride in our national bird when they’re overseas”
“目睹了那里发生的一切的新西兰人很快就阻止了此事，”他还补充说，动物园“对所发生的事情公开道歉，我已知悉，并感谢他们认真对待这件事”。
“The New Zealanders who witnessed what was happening there caught it pretty quickly,” he said. The prime minister added that the zoo had “made public statements of regret on what’s happened, and I acknowledge that and thank them for taking it seriously”.
据BBC报道，根据迈阿密动物园的说法，宝拉通常不会出现在公众视野中，他们目前正在建造一个特殊的栖息地，为宝拉提供所需的庇护，同时“在没有任何直接接触的情况下”向游客介绍这种神奇的几维鸟。
Pāora is usually kept out of public view, according to Zoo Miami, which says plans are "under way" to build a special habitat that will provide him the shelter he needs, while also teaching guests "about the amazing kiwi without any direct contact".
看来，网友的力量还是强大的。希望这只几维鸟以后能过上更好的生活……
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