In its final hours before being butchered, a chicken deserves to be reasonably comfortable and relatively stress-free. This is the message from China’s first official recommendations to the poultry industry, recently issued by Shandong Province, on how to slaughter the animals.
被宰殺前的最后幾個小時里，一只雞應(yīng)當過得足夠舒適且相對輕松。這是中國第一份針對肉雞屠宰問題的官方指導規(guī)范所傳遞出的信息。該規(guī)范近期由山東省出臺，

The guidelines, which are not mandatory, are motivated at least as much by commercial considerations as by concerns for animal welfare. Shandong is China’s leading producer of chickens, but traces of damage to the birds, like broken limbs or blood clots in the meat, have hurt exports.
這些指導方針并不具有強制性，其背后的商業(yè)考慮至少和對動物福利的關(guān)注相當。山東是中國最大的雞肉生產(chǎn)地，但腿翅折斷或肉中有血塊等顯示雞受傷的跡象，已經(jīng)影響了出口。

Still, animal welfare advocates are praising the standards.
倡導動物福利的人士依然對這些標準表示贊賞。

“Such specific guidelines,” said Jeff Zhou, China representative of Compassion in World Farming, a British organization that campaigns to end factory farming. “I’m very grateful that they did this in Shandong.”
世界農(nóng)場動物福利協(xié)會的中國區(qū)代表周尊國說：“規(guī)定非常細化。我很感謝山東出臺了這樣的標準。”該協(xié)會是一家致力于終結(jié)工廠化飼養(yǎng)的英國機構(gòu)。

The guidelines, according to People’s Daily, list the steps leading to slaughter and detail for each the recommended procedures to ensure that the chicken’s death is as painless as possible.
據(jù)《人民日報》報道，山東的屠宰規(guī)范列出了宰殺前的步驟，并詳細說明了每個步驟中推薦采取的處理方法，以確保雞在被宰殺時盡可能沒有痛苦。

For example, the guidelines advise against transporting a live chicken longer than three hours. A chicken should be held with both hands, not seized by a single leg or wing. Before being killed, the bird should be anesthetized by being gassed or having its head dipped into electrified water. The guidelines also recommend using a massaging pad to support the chicken’s breast as the birds are moved on an assembly line to be stunned.
比如，指導規(guī)范建議活雞的運輸時間不超過三小時；抓住雞時要用兩只手，不能僅逮著一只腿或翅膀；宰雞前，應(yīng)當利用氣體或?qū)⑵漕^部浸入通電的水中，使其失去知覺。規(guī)范還建議雞經(jīng)過流水線“致昏”時，要安裝撫摸板對其胸部進行支撐。

Humane slaughter alone does not remove all the cruelty that animals in intensive factory farming experience, Mr. Zhou said, but the guidelines address an important part of it. “It’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
周尊國表示，僅靠人道宰殺并不能消除工廠化集中飼養(yǎng)的動物要經(jīng)歷的所有虐待，但指導方針應(yīng)對了其中一個重要方面。他說：“這是正確的一步。”

The organization is working with its Chinese partners, including the International Cooperation Committee of Animal Welfare, a government-backed research institute, to push for more humane practices in China and has released similar recommendations for raising, shipping and slaughtering pigs, cattle and sheep.
世界農(nóng)場動物福利協(xié)會正與中國機構(gòu)進行合作，包括政府支持的研究機構(gòu)——動物福利國際合作委員會，推動在中國采取更人道的做法。該組織還針對豬、牛、羊的飼養(yǎng)、運輸和宰殺發(fā)布了類似的建議規(guī)范。

Although the Shandong guidelines are China’s first for the slaughter of chickens, procedures to reduce animal suffering as well as improve meat quality are being practiced elsewhere and for other farm animals. Major slaughterhouses in Beijing, for example, already stun chickens by dipping their heads into electrified water, according to The Beijing News.
盡管山東的指導規(guī)范是中國首次針對肉雞宰殺出臺相關(guān)建議，但在中國其他地方，面向其他家禽，已經(jīng)實施了用以減少動物痛苦并改善肉質(zhì)的規(guī)程。比如，據(jù)《新京報》報道，北京的主要屠宰場已經(jīng)采取了將雞的頭部浸入通電的水中致暈的方式。

The city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, requires slaughterhouses to allow pigs to rest at least 12 hours after being transported to the slaughterhouse before they are killed, according to a 2010 report in Dahe, a local newspaper. Violations carry a penalty of up to 50,000 renminbi, or about $7,500.
地方報紙《大河報》2010年的一篇報道稱，河南省會鄭州要求豬被運到屠宰場后，在宰殺前至少能休息12個小時。違反規(guī)定者最高可面臨5萬人民幣罰款（約7500美元）。

As more slaughterhouses adopt procedures for the humane handling of livestock, Chinese meat may find greater acceptance in high-end markets at home and abroad, said Sun Jingxin, a food science professor at Qingdao Agricultural University and the author of the Shandong guidelines.
青島農(nóng)業(yè)大學食品科學教授孫京新主持制定了山東這份指導規(guī)范。他表示，隨著更多屠宰場采用人道的牲畜處理方式，中國的肉類產(chǎn)品可能在國內(nèi)外高端市場獲得更多認可。

With an eye to European consumers concerned about animal welfare, Mr. Sun said of preferred methods for stunning the chickens, “we adopted the high-voltage system used in the EU, instead of the US-style low-voltage treatment.”
針對關(guān)心動物福利的歐洲消費者，孫京新談及了首選的致暈方式：“我們推薦歐盟的高壓電致暈而不是美國的低壓處理方法。”

“The EU way is considered more humane, even though it may result in lower meat quality,” Mr. Sun said in an interview.
孫京新在采訪中說道：“歐盟的方式更為人道，盡管可能肉質(zhì)不如低壓致暈。”

China is the world’s second-leading producer of broiler meat, after the United States, producing 13.4 million tons last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. But it ranked only fifth in exports, with 401,000 tons that year.
美國農(nóng)業(yè)部的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，中國是世界第二大雞肉生產(chǎn)國，僅排在美國之后。去年，中國的雞肉產(chǎn)量是1340萬噸，但出口量僅為40.1萬噸，名列第五。

英文來源：紐約時報
翻譯：實習生徐曉彤
編審：yaning