美国国家公共电台 NPR Puerto Ricans Angry Over Impending Ban On Cockfighting

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In Puerto Rico, cockfighting has been a tradition for centuries. Now it's on the brink¹ of being declared illegal. The farm bill, passed by the U.S. Congress and sent to the president's desk earlier this week, includes a provision that would ban cockfighting in U.S. territories. NPR's Adrian Florido reports that in Puerto Rico, resistance to the ban has been fierce but futile².

ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE³: Puerto Rico is only a hundred miles long, but it has almost 80 cockfighting arenas⁵. Cockfighting is such a big part of life here that eight years ago, the legislature declared it the national sport. Of course, Puerto Rico is not a nation. It's a U.S. territory subject to control by the U.S. Congress. Supporters of cockfighting were reminded of that this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JENNIFFER GONZALEZ: We've been regulating the industry of cockfighting since 1933.

FLORIDO: Jenniffer Gonzalez is Puerto Rico's non-voting representative in Congress. She spoke⁶ during debate on the farm bill earlier this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GONZALEZ: This is an industry that represents more than $18 million in our economy and also more than 27,000 direct and indirect jobs on the island.

FLORIDO: She said wiping those out will be a big blow to the island's already troubled economy. Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rossello, said the ban was an example of the island's colonial relationship with the U.S. and also an attack on Puerto Rican culture.

KITTY BLOCK: Cruelty is not culture. And it is important to look at what it is and what it's doing to the animals.

FLORIDO: Kitty Block is president of the U.S. Humane⁷ Society, one of the main groups that pushed lawmakers to include the ban in the farm bill. Cockfighting is already illegal in all 50 states. And the time has come, Block said, to extend it to Puerto Rico, the Virgin⁸ Islands and other territories.

BLOCK: It is something that's incredibly inhumane. These are birds that are armed with weapons. And they slash⁹ and slash each eyes out, and it's just a brutal¹⁰ blood sport. And it really is something that should have gone a long time ago.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROOSTER CROWING)

FLORIDO: Yesterday, the day after Congress approved the ban, the mood was somber¹¹ at the Cockfighting Club of San Juan. Eighty-year-old Miguel Ortiz walked me over to a wall of cubbies behind a panel of glass. On most fight days, there are up to 80 roosters waiting to fight. Yesterday, there were birds in only 26 of the cubbies.

MIGUEL ORTIZ: (Speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: Most people stayed home, Ortiz said, upset over the ban. Ortiz said he's been fighting gamecocks since he was a 6-year-old boy on the farm. His dad did, too, and his grandfather, and so does his son - a way of life.

ORTIZ: (Speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: "In Puerto Rico, there are a lot of people who make a living this way," Ortiz said, "by raising roosters, training them, breeding them, selling feed, betting on them." One of those people is Josean Rivera. He raises roosters, charging their owners $5 per week per bird.

JOSEAN RIVERA: (Speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: "We're devastated," he said. "We weren't prepared for this. This is how I feed my family." Like many defenders¹² of cockfighting, he argues it isn't a cruel sport because the birds are raised well and, he said, rarely allowed to fight to the death. He said what's likely to happen when the ban goes into effect in a year is that the fancy arenas around the island will close. But cockfighting will just go underground, like it was almost a century ago.

(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD YELLING)

FLORIDO: Not yet, though. Last night, the crowd in this arena⁴ was small but lively. As soon as the first two birds were released into the ring, the crowd's despair over the impending¹³ ban seemed to melt away. Adrian Florido, NPR News, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

1 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

2 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

8 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

9 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

12 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。