Martin Edwards studies the shadows of the ancient forest from a high seat and waits.马丁·爱德华兹坐在高处注视着古老森林的影子，等待着。 Sitting still, he watches with his special camera. Then, Edwards aims and fires his rifle.他静静地坐着，用他的特殊相机看着。然后，爱德华兹瞄准并扳动了步枪。 He has killed a male deer, or buck.他射杀了一只雄鹿。 It was one of many wild deer found in this forest in Hampshire, southern England.它是在英格兰南部汉普郡的这片森林中发现的许多野生鹿之一。 Edwards supports controlling the deer population with a method called humane deer management.爱德华兹支持用一种名为人道管理鹿的方法来控制鹿的数量。 The idea is to make sure the animals do not become too numerous for the forests and farmland in a country where deer no longer have natural predators.这么做是为了确保在一个鹿不再有天敌的国家里，这些动物不会变得太多，不会对森林和农田造成太大的影响。 A predator is an animal that catches and kills other animals for food.捕食者是一种捕杀其他动物作为食物的动物。 There are now more deer in England than at any other time in the last 1,000 years, says the Forestry Commission, the government department looking after England's public forests.负责管理英格兰公共森林的政府部门林业委员会表示，现在英格兰的鹿比过去1000年中的任何时候都多。 An estimated 2 million deer now live in the country.据估计，目前有200万头鹿生活在这个国家。 The high deer numbers have had a big effect on the environment, officials say.官员们说，大量的鹿对环境产生了很大影响。 Deer have damaged large areas of woodland, including young trees, as well as the living areas of some birds like robins.鹿破坏了大片林地，包括幼树，以及知更鸟等鸟类的生活区。 Some landowners have lost large amounts of crops to deer.一些土地主人的大量庄稼被鹿抢走了。 And overpopulation means that the animals are more likely to suffer from starvation and disease.而种群过剩意味着这些动物更有可能遭受饥饿和疾病的折磨。 Forestry experts and businesses argue that killing the deer — and supplying the meat to consumers — is a good idea.林业专家和企业辩称，杀死鹿--并将肉提供给消费者--是一个好主意。 The reduced deer population can bring back balance to the environment and provide a low-fat, sustainable protein.鹿数量的减少可以使环境恢复平衡，并提供一种低脂肪、可持续的蛋白质。 Deer meat is called venison. It is a red meat similar to lean beef but with a stronger flavor.鹿的肉被称为鹿肉。它是一种红肉，类似于瘦肉，但味道更浓郁。 Although many in Britain see venison as a high-end food, one support group sees it as a good protein for those who do not have enough money to buy other meats.虽然许多英国人认为鹿肉是高端食物，但一个支持组织认为，对于那些没有足够钱购买其他肉类的人来说，鹿肉是一种很好的蛋白质来源。 "Why not utilize that fantastic meat to feed people in need?" said SJ Hunt of The Country Food Trust.“为什么不用这些美味的肉来喂饱有需要的人呢？”乡村食品信托基金的SJ·亨特说。 The group gives meals made with wild venison to food banks.该组织将用野生鹿肉制成的食物提供给食物银行。 The government says native wild deer play a role in healthy forest environments.政府表示，当地野生鹿在健康的森林环境中发挥着作用。 Still, the government admits that the deer population needs controlling.尽管如此，政府承认鹿的数量需要控制。 But experts like Edwards, a spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, believe killing them for meat is the only effective choice.但像英国射击与保护协会发言人爱德华兹这样的专家认为，杀死它们作为食物是唯一有效的选择。 The deer population increased greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic.在新冠肺炎大流行期间，鹿的数量大幅增加。 Hunters, like everyone else, stayed home and the restaurant market — the main source for venison sales in Britain — disappeared overnight.像其他人一样，猎人们呆在家里，餐馆市场--英国鹿肉销售的主要来源--一夜之间消失了。 "There were no sales of venison and the price was absolutely on the floor," said Ben Rigby, a leading venison and game meats seller.本·里格比是鹿肉和野味的主要销售商，他说：“鹿肉没有销路，价格绝对是最低的。” "The deer had a chance to breed massively." Rigby's company now processes hundreds of deer a week.“鹿有机会大量繁殖。”里格比的公司现在每周要处理数百头鹿。 The business sends venison or steaks to restaurants and food markets.他们会把鹿肉或牛排送到餐馆和食品市场。 One difficulty, Rigby said, is growing people's taste for venison.里格比说，其中一个困难是人们对鹿肉的品味越来越高。 This is especially important after Brexit put new barriers up for exporting the meat.在英国脱欧为肉类出口设置了新的壁垒后，这一点尤其重要。 In England, shooting deer is legal under some restrictions.在英格兰，在某些限制下射杀鹿是合法的。 Hunters must have a permit, use certain kinds of firearms and observe open seasons.猎人必须有许可证，使用某些类型的枪支，并遵守开放季节。 They also need an acceptable or valid reason, such as when a landowner permits them to kill the deer when their land is damaged.他们还需要一个可以接受或有效的理由，例如当土地遭到破坏时，土地所有者允许他们去捕杀鹿。 Hunting deer with groups of dogs is illegal.用狗群猎鹿是非法的。 Making wild venison more widely available in food stores and beyond will bring out more hunters and ensure the meat does not go to waste, Edwards said.爱德华兹说，在食品商店和其他地方更广泛地购买野生鹿肉，将吸引更多的猎人，并确保肉不被浪费。 Forestry England, which controls public forests, is part of the effort to increase venison use.控制着公共森林的英格兰林业公司是增加鹿肉消耗量的努力的一部分。 In recent years, it supplied some hospitals with 1,000 kg of wild venison to use for food.近年来，它向一些医院提供了1000公斤野生鹿肉作为食品。 The approach appears to have been well received.这一做法似乎受到了好评。 However, it has gotten some criticism from animal welfare group PETA.然而，它也受到了动物福利组织“善待动物组织”的一些批评。 PETA supports veganism – the practice of not eating or using animal products.“善待动物组织”支持素食主义--不吃或不使用动物产品。 SJ Hunt of The Country Food Trust said it is possible to do much more with the meat.乡村食品信托基金的SJ·亨特说，可以用这些肉做更多的事情。 Her organization provided hundreds of thousands of venison meals to food banks last year — and people are hungry for more, she said.她的组织去年向食品银行提供了数十万份鹿肉套餐--人们渴望得到更多，她说。 She described the meat as nutritious and "free-range to the purest form of that definition."她形容这种肉营养丰富，并且“是定义中最纯粹的自由放养动物”。 I'm John Russell.约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。
