中英對照讀新聞》 Italian mayor offers free goats to anyone who can catch them 義大利市長向任何能捕獲山羊的人免費提供山羊

◎孫宇青

The mayor of an Italian island is attempting to solve an animal overpopulation problem with an unusual offer: free goats for anyone who can catch them.

義大利一座島嶼的市長正試圖透過一項不尋常的提議，來解決動物數量過剩的問題：向任何能捕獲山羊的人免費提供山羊。

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Riccardo Gullo, the mayor of Alicudi, in Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago, introduced an "adopt-a-goat" program when the small island’s wild goat population grew to six times the human population of about 100.

西西里島伊奧利亞群島阿利庫迪島約有100名居民，但當地野生山羊的數量是人口的6倍，因此市長里卡多‧古洛實施「收養山羊」計畫。

Gullo said anyone who emails a request to the local government and pays a $17 "stamp fee" can take as many goats as they wish, as long as they transport them off the island within 15 days of approval.

古洛表示，任何透過電子郵件向當地政府提出請求，並支付17美元「印花費」的人，可以任意捕捉山羊，只要在獲得批准後的15天內將牠們運出島嶼即可。

The mayor told CNN that officials will not investigate the intentions of prospective goat owners, but "ideally, we would like to see people try to domesticate the animals rather than eat them."

市長告訴《美國有線電視新聞網》，官員不會調查未來山羊主人的意圖，但「理想情況下，我們希望看到人們嘗試馴養這些動物，而非吃牠們」。

新聞辭典

prospective：形容詞。預期的、將來的。例句：We have had three prospective buyers coming over to look at the house.（我們已接待3位潛在買家來看房子。）

domesticate：動詞，馴化。例句：Dogs are domesticated to help with rescue tasks.（狗狗被馴養來協助救援任務。）