澳洲抗旱，殃及袋鼠

張祖平

Australia relaxed rules about shooting kangaroos in New South Wales as the state was declared “100% in drought” after months of little or no rain.

Less than 10 millimeters of rain fell in the state in July， 2018， the fifth-driest on record， putting further pressure on dwindling1 food supplies for cattle that can no longer graze2 on parched3 land.

“This is tough， there isnt a person in the state that isnt hoping to see some rain for our farmers and regional communities，” Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said in a statement.

Large numbers of kangaroos have been competing with cattle for food and water， a situation Blair said must be turned around “as soon as possible”.

“Many farmers are taking livestock4 off their paddocks5， only to then see kangaroos move in and take whatever is left—this is the last thing any farmer needs at the moment，” Blair said.

澳大利亞放寬了在新南威爾士州射殺袋鼠的法規(guī)，因為歷經(jīng)幾個月的幾乎無降雨后，該州宣布“處于百分之百的干旱中”。

2018年七月，該州降雨量不足10毫米，是有記錄以來的第五大干旱，這給日益減少的牲畜食物供給增加了壓力，這些牲畜無法在枯焦的土地上吃到草。

“這種處境很艱難，這個州的人們沒有哪一個不希望看到農(nóng)民和各地能有一些雨水。”產(chǎn)業(yè)部部長尼爾·布萊爾在一份聲明中說。

大量的袋鼠一直在與牛群爭奪食物和水，布萊爾說，必須“盡快”扭轉(zhuǎn)這種局面。

布萊爾說：“許多農(nóng)民正在把牲畜帶離牧場，卻看到了袋鼠蜂擁而至，吃光了一切——這是目前任何農(nóng)民都最不想見到的情況。”

Shocked and Upset Farmers

Australia has long dealt with harsh， dry conditions， especially inland， away from coastal areas popular with tourists. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said conditions were so bad that the country had to accept it was a “l(fā)and of drought and flooding rains”.

The drought may be Australias worst in 400 years， according to a recent University of Melbourne study， which reconstructed6 800 years of seasonal patterns.

The drought has hit farmers particularly hard， with crop， water， and fodder7 shortages putting their livelihoods8 at risk. Unable to feed their livestock， many have been forced to sell or slaughter9 stock， sending the cattle industry into a decline10 that could take years to recover.

Others have had to bulldoze11 orchards12 or lose their farms， leaving entire families without income， according to Australian media.

There has also been a growing national conversation about the mental health toll13 that the drought has had on farmers. Young farmers under 35 are especially vulnerable to stress and negative effects of droughts， researchers at the University of Newcastle said in a recent study.

Turnbull addressed those concerns， announcing relief measures for farmers including extra money for mental health support services.