谁在毒杀香港的宠物狗

Grim reminders of some of Hong Kong’s most gruesome murders line Bowen Road: signs posted every few hundred steps that warn, “Beware of Dog Poisoning.”

在香港的宝云道上，可以看到提醒人们小心恐怖谋杀的阴森标志：每隔几百步就有一个“提防毒狗”警告。

The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has recorded 66 cases of suspected dog poisoning on Bowen Road and nearby Black’s Link since 2003, including 14 dogs that have died. The group says that since the killings began in the late 1980s, the number of dogs killed may total 200 or more.

自2003年以来，香港爱护动物协会（Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals，简称SPCA）已经记录了66起在宝云道和附近布力径疑为狗中毒的事件，其中14只狗已经丧生。该组织称，毒杀行为开始于1980年代末，毒死的犬只总数可能超过200只。

Dogs have been poisoned all over Hong Kong, but Bowen Road’s central location — on a hillside lined with parks, shrines and elegant mansions that offers sweeping views of the city’s skyline — has meant that the cases there have attracted the most attention. Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s last colonial governor, almost lost his Norfolk terrier Whisky after the dog ate poisoned bait left along the road in 1997.

香港各处都有狗被毒死，但宝云道处在中心位置——位于一个山坡上，附近有公园、神庙以及可以一览全城美景的雅致豪宅——因此那里发生的案件吸引的关注最多。香港作为殖民地的最后一任总督彭定康有一条名为“威士忌”(Whisky)的诺福克梗，1997年时在这条路上吞食了有毒的诱饵，差点丧命。

Officials still don’t know who is responsible. Some investigators believe that whoever is behind the poisonings gets a disturbed thrill from taking a life.

官员们仍然不知道投毒者是谁。一些研究者认为，不管是谁，此人都有一种从杀戮中获取快感的可怕嗜好。

“There’s only been one successful prosecution, because this is done in a covert way,” said Danielle Baber, the deputy chief officer for the Hong Kong S.P.C.A.’s inspectorate. “Unless there’s a witness to something, particularly somebody putting bait out, it’s difficult to find a suspect. And whether it’s the same person or copycats, that’s difficult to say.”

“到目前为止只有一次成功的起诉，因为作案的方式很隐蔽，”香港SPCA核检部副监督丹妮尔·巴伯(Danielle Baber)说。“除非有人亲眼目睹，特别是看到有人投放诱饵，否则很难找到嫌疑人。而且这是否为同一人所为，还是有模仿者，也很难讲。”

The motives are not clear. Theories include fear or hatred of dogs, or annoyance at owners who don’t clean up after their pets. Part of Bowen Road is car-free, and people often walk or run with their dogs there.

投毒者的动机尚不清楚。据推测有可能是出于对狗的恐惧或仇视，或者对不清理宠物排泄物的主人感到不满。宝云道有一段路只能步行，人们常在那里散步或者遛狗。

The bait is usually a piece of chicken or pork laced with commonly available pesticides, which the S.P.C.A. warns can cause “vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, breathing difficulty, convulsions, collapse and, in some cases, death.”

诱饵通常是一块掺入了常用农药的鸡肉或猪肉，SPCA警告说，这些农药可能会导致“呕吐、腹泻、颤抖、呼吸困难、抽搐、昏倒，甚至死亡”。

Warnings and greater surveillance seem to have helped reduce the frequency of the poisonings, but they have not stopped: Another pet dog’s body was found on Bowen Road in mid-May. Poisoning is suspected.

张贴警告和增加监控似乎有助于减少事件的发生，但中毒事件从来没有停止过：5月中旬，又一具宠物狗的尸体出现在了宝云道，死因疑为中毒。