越南人為什麼喜歡吃貓?

Vietnam's taste for cat leaves pets in peril

越南對貓的口味令寵物處於危險之中

Hanoi (AFP) - The enduring popularity of "little tiger" as a snack to accompany a beer in Vietnam means that cat owners live in constant fear of animal snatchers, despite an official ban.

河內（法新社）——在越南，人們總是喜歡就着“小老虎”喝啤酒，這意味着貓主人總是害怕自己的寵物會被綁架走，儘管官方嚴厲禁止。

At an unassuming restaurant next to a carwash in central Hanoi, a cat is prepared for hungry clients: drowned, shaved and burned to remove all fur before being cut up and fried with garlic.

在河內中心地帶的一個小餐館裏，一隻貓正準備被殺死以款待飢餓的客人：先是淹死，再剃毛，再把身上的皮毛燒光，然後再切碎，用大蒜炒。

"A lot of people eat cat meat. It's a novelty. They want to try it," said the establishment's manager To Van Dung, 35.

“很多人都吃貓肉，這是一種新事物，人們想嘗試一下，”這家餐館的35歲的經理Dung説。

Vietnam has forbidden the consumption of cats in an effort to encourage their ownership and keep the capital's rat population under control.

越南官方明令禁止吃貓，是為了鼓勵人們多養貓以應對首都猖獗的老鼠。

But there are still dozens of restaurants serving cat in Hanoi and it is rare to see felines roaming the streets -- most pet-owners keep them indoors or tied up out of fear of cat thieves.

但是河內依然有幾十家餐館在提供貓肉，很難在街上看到貓跑——大多數主人將貓鎖在家裏或者綁起來，以免遭貓賊綁架。

Such is the demand from restaurants that cats are sometimes smuggled across the border from Thailand and Laos.

由於餐館對貓肉的需求，所以有時候會從泰國和老撾邊境走私過來。

Dung said that he had never had problems with the law. He buys his cats from local breeders but also so-called cat traders, with few checks on their sourcing.

Dung説，他不會做違法的事情。他從當地養殖者那裏買貓，但是也從所謂的貓商人那裏買貓，一般不查詢這些貓的來源。

"Little tiger" is typically enjoyed at the start of each lunar month, unlike dog meat which is eaten at the end.

人們一般在農曆每月的開頭吃貓肉，不像狗肉，一般是在月末的時候吃的。

On a busy day, the restaurant can serve around 100 clients.

在最忙的時候，這家餐館每天宰殺100只貓。

"I know in the United States and Britain they don't eat cat. But here we do," Nguyen Dinh Tue, 44, said as he chewed on a piece of fried cat meat.

“我知道在美國和英國人們不吃貓肉，但在這裏我們吃，”44歲的Nguyen Dinh Tue一邊吃着炸貓肉一邊説。

"I don't kill the cat! But this place sells it so I like to eat it," he added.

“我自己不殺貓，但是這家餐館有售，所以我就吃了，”他説。

-'We ate everything' –

- ‘我們啥都吃’ -

Vietnam's penchant for eating animals that are considered pets in many other countries came about largely as a result of circumstance, said Hoang Ngoc Bau, one of Hanoi's few trained vets.

越南人吃動物（在很多其他國家被當作寵物）的習慣主要是因為環境造成的，河內為數不多的正規獸醫Hoang Ngoc Bau如是説。

"The country was once very poor, and we had a long war. We ate everything we could to stay alive," he told AFP. "Insects, dogs, cats, even rats... It became a habit."

“越南以前非常窮，而且經歷了很長一段時間的戰爭。所以為了活下來，我們什麼東西都吃，”他對法新社説。“昆蟲，狗，貓，甚至是老鼠。。。這已經成為一種習慣。”

Bau decided to become a vet after his pet dog saved him from a poisonous snake when he was a child. "From that time, I had a debt to dogs," the 63-year-old said.

Hoang Ngoc Bau小時候被毒蛇咬，他的寵物狗救了自己一命，於是他決定成為一名寵物醫生。“從那時開始，我算是欠狗狗一條命，”63歲的他説。

Dramatic changes to society and cultural attitudes in the once tightly-controlled communist country in recent decades mean that a growing number of Vietnamese now share his love of animals.

越南以前是共產主義嚴厲控制的國家，近幾十年來社會和文化態度都發生了改變，這意味着有越來越多的越南人更加喜歡動物了。

But old eating habits die hard and pet owners have a battle on their hands to protect their furry companions from the dinner pot.

但是老舊的吃動物習慣難改，所以寵物主人們不得不採取措施保護自己的寵物。

"No one is breeding dogs and cats for slaughter. So nearly all the animals in restaurants are trapped and stolen," Bau said.

“沒有人為了殺戮而養殖貓和狗。所以餐館裏所有的動物都是誘捕和偷竊來的，”Bau説。

"For me and other pet lovers in Vietnam, they're our best friend," added the vet.

“對於越南的寵物主人來説，這些動物是我們最好的朋友，”他説。

Yet some people manage to reconcile society's dual affection for cats.

但是有些人將養寵物和吃寵物完美的結合在了一起。

Le Ngoc Thien, the chef at one Hanoi cat meat restaurant, keeps a cat as a pet -- but when it is big enough he will cook it and get a new kitten to repeat the cycle.

Le Ngoc Thien是河內某家貓肉餐館的大廚，他自己養了一隻寵物貓，當這隻貓年紀足夠大時，他就會把它煮掉，然後再養一隻新的小貓，就這樣不斷的循環下去。

"When my cats become old we kill them because according to our tradition when a cat gets old we need to change it and get a younger one," he said.

“當貓變老時，我們就會把它們殺掉，因為根據我們的傳統，當貓變老時，我們就需要養一隻新的小貓，”他説。

"When I first started working here, I was surprised so many people ate cat. But now, fine, they like it," he said, adding that demand appeared to be increasing each year.

我剛開始在這家餐館工作時，我驚訝的發現竟然有那麼多人吃貓肉。但是現在我淡定了，他們就是喜歡吃，”他説，而且需求量每年都在增加。

"Eating cat meat is better than eating dog as the meat is more sweet, more tender than a dog," Thien said.

“吃貓肉比吃狗肉好，因為貓肉更香更嫩。”

A cat sells for between $50 and $70 depending on how large it is and how it is prepared.

“一隻貓肉可以賣到50到70美元的價格，主要看大小和做法。”

Many pet owners get fed up of the risks of letting their cats go outside.

很多寵物主人對自己貓咪所面臨的風險感到忍無可忍。

Phuong Thanh Thuy owns a Hanoi restaurant and has cats to keep rats in check, but she has had to replace them regularly.

Phuong Thanh Thuy在河內開了一家餐館，並養了一些貓來防老鼠，但是他的貓經常丟。

"My family is sad because we spend a lot of time and energy raising our cats. When we lose a cat we feel pain," she said as a newly purchased batch of kittens played at her feet.

“我們花了很多時間和精力來養這些貓，所以這些貓丟了後我們都非常傷心。”