哥切尔是瑞士苏黎世的一名动物辩护律师。瑞士拟就国内所有各州必须聘请动物律师的提案举行全民公决。
今年2月，哥切尔（Antoine Goetschel）在苏黎世当地法院，为他的一个不同寻常的客户进行辩护──一条与渔夫挣扎10分钟后被捕获的重达22磅的梭子鱼。
Last month, Antoine Goetschel went to court here in defense of an unusual client: a 22-pound pike that had fought a fisherman for 10 minutes before surrendering.
哥切尔是瑞士苏黎世的一名以为动物辩护为职业的律师，他是代表宠物、饲养动物和野生动物利益的公立律师。这条梭子鱼之所以成为他的客户，是因为有动物福利组织提起上诉称，在梭子鱼试图求生的艰苦挣扎过程中，被告的业余垂钓者涉嫌残害动物。
Mr. Goetschel is the official animal lawyer for the Swiss canton of Zurich, a sort of public defender who represents the interests of pets, farm animals and wildlife. He wound up with the pike as a client when animal-welfare groups filed a complaint alleging animal cruelty in the fish's epic battle with an amateur angler.
在当地一家报纸刊登出那位渔夫自豪地炫耀那条足足有四英尺长的梭子鱼的照片之后，这起案件逐渐浮出水面。哥切尔称，此情此景让他想起非洲狩猎人将一只脚放在一头被猎杀狮子头上的画面。他说，这正是海明威式的思维方式。为什么其它动物都在被以更加人道的方式捕获的时候，梭子鱼案件还能成为合法的行为？
The case emerged after a local newspaper photo showed the fisherman proudly showing off the four-foot-long fish -- a scene that, to Mr. Goetschel, was reminiscent of a safari hunter with his foot perched on the head of a dead lion. 'It is this Hemingway thinking,' he says. 'Why should this be legal when other animals have to be slaughtered in a humane way?'
哥切尔是瑞士唯一的专业动物律师，不过这种局面可能将有所改变。3月7日，瑞士拟就国内所有各州必须聘请动物律师的提案举行全民公决。理由是：如果被控虐待动物的人可能聘请律师，那么受虐的一方也应当享受这样的权利。
Mr. Goetschel is the only official animal lawyer in Switzerland, but that may be about to change. On Sunday, the Swiss will vote on a referendum that would compel all of Switzerland's cantons to hire animal lawyers. The rationale: If people accused of mistreating animals can hire lawyers, the victims of such abuse are also entitled to representation.
瑞士政府正在敦促投票人不要进行全民公决，他们辩称钱应当用在发现更多的动物虐待案上。
The Swiss government is urging voters to reject the referendum, arguing the money should instead go to uncovering animal abuse.
瑞士的农场游说团体亦反对这项提案，他们认为瑞士农夫的行为已经受到这个国家的素食主义者们的密切监控。
Switzerland's farm lobby is against the proposal and argues that farmers are already closely monitored by state veterinarians.
为了让这项提案获得通过，支持全民公决的一方将哥切尔推到舆论焦点。现年51岁的哥切尔是作曲家谢尔盖•拉赫玛尼诺夫（Sergei Rachmaninoff）的后人，十分健谈，他自2007年开始担任动物辩护律师，亦是梭子鱼的代理人。
To make their case, the referendum's supporters have thrown the spotlight on Mr. Goetschel, a voluble 51-year-old attorney and descendant of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff who has held the Zurich post since 2007 and who represented the pike.
哥切尔的官方职务按小时收费，他一年大概受理180个此类案件。在他胜诉的案件中，法院有时会判处高额罚金，比如说，某位让十几头绵羊挨饿缺水的农夫就被判缴纳8,800瑞士法郎（合8,200美元）的罚款。哥切尔也有自己的私人律师事务。
Juggling a private practice with his cantonal job, for which he is paid by the hour, Mr. Goetschel handles about 180 animal cases a year. He points to stiff fines he has won -- such as an 8,800-franc ($8,200) fine for a farmer who kept a dozen sheep underfed and without water.
自上世纪70年代以来，瑞士境内的动物比世界其它任何地方的动物所享有的保护都要完善。
Since the 1970s, Swiss animals have enjoyed greater protection than critters anywhere else in the world.
在瑞士，希望养狗的人在购买宠物狗之前必须先修四小时的课程。习惯群居的生物，包括鸟类、鱼类和（牛毛）牛必须有伙伴。鸟笼和鱼缸必须至少有一面是不透明的，以使里面的鸟和鱼有安全感。
Prospective dog owners here must take a four-hour course before buying a pet. Social species including birds, fish and yaks must have companionship. Bird cages and aquariums must have at least one opaque side to make the occupants feel safe.
两年前加强的相关动物法律甚至对如何处理病鱼做出了详细说明：重击头部，或者浸入掺有丁香油酒精溶液的水中。总之，你就是不能把它们从马桶里冲掉。严重的虐待动物罪行可招致三年的牢狱之灾。
The law, strengthened two years ago, even specifies how to put down a sick fish: with a sharp blow to the head, or immersed in water mixed with clove oil dissolved in alcohol. You can't just flush them down the toilet. Serious animal cruelty is punishable by three years in jail.
如果全民公决得到通过，动物将有权在法庭上获得辩护律师。如果它们无法负担律师费，将由政府出钱指定辩护律师。
If Sunday's referendum passes, animals will have the right to be represented by lawyers in court. If they cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed at government expense.
瑞士一般非常注重对人民自由的尊重，无论是动物、蔬菜还是人。科学家在对植物进行试验之前必须考虑植物的尊严。瑞士还以自由选择死亡权而著称，每年都有数以百计的外国人来到瑞士结束自己的生命。
The Swiss generally take civil liberties very seriously, whether animal, vegetable or human. Scientists must consider the dignity of plants before embarking on experiments. The country is also known for its right-to-die laws that draw hundreds of foreigners each year to Switzerland to kill themselves.
然而，就所有现有的保护条例而言，瑞士动物保护组织（Swiss Animal Protection）表示，瑞士官员很少针对动物福利违法行为进行起诉，而平均罚款金额在2008年只有439瑞士法郎，几乎不能构成任何威慑。该组织的发言人瑞斯（Mark Rissi）表示，我们的确有非常严格的法律，但是在一些州，法官没有完全执行法律。
Yet for all the existing protections, Swiss Animal Protection, the group behind the referendum, says that officials rarely prosecute animal-welfare infractions and that the average fine -- just 439 Swiss francs in 2008 -- is hardly a deterrent. 'We do have very, very tough laws,' says Mark Rissi, spokesman for the organization. 'But in some cantons, judges aren't applying the law to the fullest.'
有关辩论使苏黎世尤其引人瞩目。2008年，苏黎世发生动物虐待案件224起，是全国总数的三分之一。苏黎世官员在1992年开始设立动物辩护律师办公室，哥切尔是担任这个职务的第三位律师。
The debate has thrown the spotlight on Zurich, which had 224 animal abuse cases in 2008 -- a third of all those recorded nationwide. Zurich officials established the animal lawyer office in 1992, and Mr. Goetschel is the third lawyer to hold the job.
作为瑞士唯一一位动物权利公立辩护律师，哥切尔是一名素食者，没有养宠物，因为反对动物实验，所以尽量避免吃药。
The country's only public defender of animals, Mr. Goetschel is a vegetarian who has no pets and avoids taking medication because of his opposition to research on lab animals.
他在23岁的时候开始对维护动物权利产生兴趣，当时的一场事故让他10天说不出话来，使他有机会了解无法表达自己感情的动物所受的苦楚。
He became interested in animal rights at the age of 23, when an accident left him unable to speak for 10 days, helping him understand the plight of animals who can't express themselves.
2003年瑞士颁布一项法律，规定大众应当以有感知能力的生物、而不是个人财产来对待动物。哥切尔正是此项法案的主要支持者。
He was a major advocate of a 2003 Swiss law under which animals are to be treated as sentient beings, not personal property.
哥切尔并不向法庭提起诉讼，但是他负责确保通常不熟悉动物法的法官认真对待相关案件。他会解释动物保护法案，审阅相关文件，并根据判例提出罚款建议。他还可对判决提起上诉、
Mr. Goetschel doesn't file complaints with courts, but he is charged with making sure judges, often unfamiliar with animal law, take the cases seriously by explaining the animal protection code, reviewing files and suggesting fines based on precedent. He can also appeal verdicts.
虽然哥切尔并非全民公决的官方代表，但是他在最近几个月俨然已经成为媒体的宠儿，经常出现在脱口秀节目或者公开辩论会上，为全民公决辩护。
While he doesn't officially represent the campaign, Mr. Goetschel has become a media darling in recent months, arguing for the referendum on talk shows and in town-hall debates.
哥切尔接手的绝大多数案件与家养宠物遭到虐待有关。
The majority of Mr. Goetschel's cases relate to abuse of household pets.
在一个案件中，一位女士在购买两只小猫咪之后又将它们遗弃在大街上。在哥切尔的建议下，法庭判决这位女士缴纳1,050瑞士法郎的罚款。
He secured a 1,050-franc fine for a woman who abandoned two kittens in the street soon after buying them.
在2008年的一桩案件中，他为一群被放养在池塘里的鱼辩护，缘由是在一次游戏节目中参赛者试图用手抓住这些鱼，他们涉嫌违反瑞士政府要求动物获得尊严待遇的相关法律。
In one 2008 case, he represented some fish that had been placed in a pool during a game show during which contestants tried to catch them by hand, allegedly violating Swiss law requiring that animals be treated with dignity.
哥切尔说，如果你把鱼当作电脑游戏的对象来对待，那么它们的尊严就受到了伤害。然而，法庭裁决称苏黎世并非受理此案的合适辖区，被告随后被宣判无罪。
'If you treat fish like objects in a computer game, their dignity is hurt,' Mr. Goetschel argued. A court, however, ruled that Zurich was the wrong jurisdiction for the case, and the defendants were subsequently cleared.
不过，反对者们已经抓住了又一个和鱼有关的把柄：哥切尔对大梭子鱼的辩护；他们认为指派公立动物辩护律师只能产生可笑的结果。
But opponents have seized on another fish tale -- Mr. Goetschel's defense of the big pike -- to argue that a mandatory public defender could make for absurd results.
此案的核心在于渔夫将咬钩的梭子鱼钓上水面所花时间过长，致使梭子鱼遭受过度的痛苦。2月，哥切尔败诉，但是他还在考虑上诉。法庭可能做出的任何进一步的判决对于这只梭子鱼来说都会显得太迟了，因为它早已成为人们的盘中餐。
The case revolved around the idea that the pike suffered excessively because of how long it took for the angler to reel it in. Mr. Goetschel lost the case last month, but is considering an appeal. Any further court action would come too late for the pike, which has been eaten.
（编者按：在3月7日举行的瑞士全民公决中，70.5%的参加者投票反对有关“加强打击虐待动物行为和给予动物更好的法律保护”的提案。）
Deborah Ball |
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