湖南衛視熱播真人秀被指不利動物保護

A new Chinese television reality show where entertainers hug whale sharks, kiss lions, feed pandas and dress up baby chimpanzees has come under fire from wildlife conservationists who want it taken off the air, saying such activities are cruel and are dangerous for both the humans and animals.

中國一檔今年新推出的真人秀節目引起了動物保護者的批評。這檔節目中，娛樂明星來到野生動物園，擁抱鯨鯊，親吻獅子，給熊貓餵食，還給幼年猩猩換衣服。動物保護者說，這些人與野生動物的互動對動物殘忍，而且人和動物都可能遇到危險。

The show, called “Wonderful Friends,” is the latest programming success from Hunan TV. The broadcaster, based in Changsha, was behind the hugely popular talent show “Super Girl,” which drew more than 400 million viewers for its season finale in 2005 when viewers got to vote for their favorite contestant.

這檔名爲《奇妙的朋友》的節目是湖南衛視最近的一個大熱門。總部在長沙的湖南衛視曾經播出火爆的《超級女聲》，2005年季終劇集有4億人觀看，粉絲通過短信投票選出“超女”。

The winning “Super Girl” herself, Li Yuchun, is now a major pop singer and among the six stars on “Wonderful Friends.” The new show was an immediate hit. An estimated 20 million people watched the first episode when it aired on Jan. 24. Seven episodes in, it has attracted more than 196,000 followers on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform.

那年的“超女”李宇春就是《奇妙的朋友》中六位明星之一。這檔真人秀一播出即大受歡迎。1月24日首集播出時全國約有2000萬人觀看。目前已經播出了七集，在新浪微博上，就已經聚集了超過19.6萬名粉絲。

In each episode, Ms. Li and her fellow participants are given zookeeping tasks that allow them to interact with wild animals at Chimelong Safari Park in the southern city of Guangzhou, whose website boasts of 20,000 rare animals and “the world’s most enchanting white tiger performance for guests.” The show’s mission, Chimelong says on its website, is to bring humans and animals closer together.

每集中，李宇春和其他明星會在廣州長隆野生動物園接受一個與動物園管理有關的任務，這些任務讓他們有機會和動物們親密接觸。長隆動物園的網站介紹說，動物園有2萬隻野生動物，還有全世界最精彩的白虎表演。長隆說，《奇妙的朋友》的目的是讓人類與動物更加接近。

Animal welfare advocates say that is exactly what should be avoided.

動物保護主義者卻說，這恰恰是應該避免的。

“There are so many reasons why ‘Wonderful Friends’ shouldn’t be on the air,” Dave Neale of Animals Asia, an advocacy group based in Hong Kong, said in a statement. “It is hugely misleading to the public about the needs and welfare of captive animals and does so while putting their welfare and health at risk.”

“出於太多的理由，應該停播《奇妙的朋友》，”總部在香港的亞洲動物基金的戴夫·尼爾在一則聲明中說。“關於動物園動物的需求和福利，它嚴重誤導公衆，同時還威脅到他們的福利和健康。”

Animals Asia is leading a campaign to have the show canceled, and it says “thousands of social media users” in China are backing its call. A group of activists based in Beijing called Freedom for Animal Actors has presented a petition to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, which regulates China’s broadcasters.

亞洲動物基金髮起了一個運動，要求停播這個節目。該組織的聲明中說：中國“數千社交網絡用戶”響應了他們的呼籲。北京一個名爲“拯救表演動物”的志願者組織還向廣電總局投遞了公開信。

“Many people may think getting cuddly is an expression of love. What they don’t realize is wild animals need space,” said Xie Yan, a zoologist and China director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is based in New York. “Putting clothes on chimpanzees is not as adorable as you may think from the animals’ point of view.”

“很多人會覺得寵愛就是對動物的愛護。但他們不明白，野生動物應該在不受干擾的環境中生存，”總部在紐約的國際野生生物保護學會動物學家和中國項目主任解焱說。“人們覺得給猩猩穿上衣服很可愛，從動物的角度，卻不是這樣。”

The hazards run both ways when humans and animals get too close, Ms. Xie added.

解焱還說，人與動物過於接近，危險是雙向的。

One of the celebrity participants in the show, Ni Ni, an actress who appeared in Zhang Yimou’s “The Flowers of War,” was bitten by a chimpanzee on the first day of taping and had to be rushed to the hospital for rabies shots, according to a report in Xin Kuai Bao, a Guangzhou newspaper.

根據廣州《新快報》的報道，《奇妙的朋友》中一個演員、曾出演張藝謀電影《金陵十三釵》的倪妮在開拍第一天就被猩猩咬傷，緊急送到了醫院打狂犬疫苗。

Telephone calls seeking comment went unanswered on Wednesday and Thursday at Hunan TV’s headquarters. The broadcaster told The Beijing News last week that the celebrities had undergone training before taping started, without specifying what kind. Professional zookeepers can be seen supervising them during the show.

週三和週四時，記者始終未能聯繫到湖南衛視在長沙的總部。上週，湖南衛視接受《新京報》採訪時說，參加拍攝的明星之前都曾經過培訓，但未說明是什麼樣的培訓。每集節目中，觀衆可以看到，有專業的動物園工作人員監督明星們的活動。

Hunan TV and the animal protection group WildAid had discussed running a joint fund-raising campaign for animal welfare during the show, according to the San Francisco-based group’s China program director, May Mei. She said the plan was dropped because WildAid officials could not see a preview or pilot episode of the show.

據舊金山動物保護組織野生救援的中國項目主任子雯說，她所在的機構和湖南衛視曾討論在節目中開展聯合募捐活動，用於推動動物福利。但她說，這個計劃後來被放棄了，因爲野生救援未能事先看到樣片。

“I guess their idea was to get their viewers to love the animals, which could be a promising start for conservation efforts,” Ms. Mei said. “But we do not agree with their entertainment-oriented approach.”

“我想他們的思路是希望人們對動物會更加喜愛，先有了喜愛才會去保護，”子雯說。“但我們不贊同他們追求娛樂的拍攝方式。”

Using celebrities to focus public attention on wildlife is a common practice in conservation campaigns. Last year, WildAid released the documentary “The End of the Wild,” which follows the Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming to Africa, where he highlighted the problem of elephant and rhinoceros poaching.

在野生動物保護中，用名人效應吸引公衆注意也是慣常的做法。去年，野生救援推出紀錄片《野性的終結》，記錄了籃球明星姚明赴非洲瞭解大象和犀牛盜獵的見聞。

But the difference with “Wonderful Friends,” Ms. Mei said, is that in an awareness campaign like Mr. Yao’s, human observers keep their distance. “Yao was there to see the hard truth of poaching, and that is different from a show created to drive ratings,” she said.

但子雯說，與《奇妙的朋友》不同，姚明的紀錄片中，人類觀察者與野生動物是保持距離的。“姚明在非洲是爲了直面盜獵的真相，和追求收視率的電視節目是不一樣的，”她說。

Critics also argue that the show violates Chinese wildlife protection laws.

批評者還說，這檔節目違反了中國野生動物保護的相關法規。

In 2010, China’s State Forestry Administration banned entertainment activities at zoos that allow nonprofessionals to have close contact with wild animals. But the ban carried no penalties and has been loosely enforced. It is widely ignored by Chinese zoos and wildlife parks, where visitors are often seen petting animals and posing for photographs with them.

2010年，中國林業局曾禁止動物園從事遊客與動物親密接觸的活動。但這個禁令沒有懲罰措施，執行也不力。在中國的動物園，這個禁令經常被無視，遊客愛撫動物、與動物合影的情況很普遍。

In December, four giant pandas at a breeding facility in the northwestern province of Shaanxi contracted distemper, and all have since died. Transmission from humans or their pets is suspected because the facility was open to tourists.

去年12月，陝西一個大熊貓繁殖基地的四頭大熊貓感染犬瘟，全部死亡。這個基地是對遊客開放的，因此懷疑是人類或寵物把病毒傳染給了熊貓。

In response to the pandas’ deaths, the Forestry Administration issued another directive in January reiterating its rules, but once again without measures for enforcement.

事後，林業局又傳達禁令，重申遊客與野生動物不得親密接觸，但仍然沒有明確罰則。

Chimelong did not respond to emailed requests for comment on Thursday. In an interview last week with Xin Kuai Bao, it said it receives more than 24 million visitors a year to its safari park in Guangzhou and its aquatic theme park in Zhuhai. “Wonderful Friends” viewers are offered chances to win free tickets to Chimelong parks.

長隆到週四時仍然沒有迴應採訪請求。上週接受《新快報》採訪時，長隆介紹說，集團下的野生動物園和珠海的海洋館每年共接待遊客2400萬人。《奇妙的動物》播出時，觀衆可以參與互動，有機會贏得免費的長隆觀光門票。