The Belgian government has come up with a radical way to deal with the burgeoning cat population – to sterilise all but a select few of the animals within five years.
比利时政府目前想出一个办法彻底解决本国猫的数量急剧增长的问题，那就是在接下来的五年内，除了少数种类的猫，所有的猫都要接受阉割手术。
The feline population in Belgium, a country of 11 million people, has increased to an estimated 1.7 million, and the culling of cats has become a daily routine. According to the health ministry, more than 13,000 were killed in animal refuges last year, more than one in three of the country's 37,000 strays.
比利时的人口有一千一百万，而猫的数目目前已经增长到大约一百七十万只猫，所以清除猫的方案已经被提上日程。根据卫生部统计，去年一年，在比利时的动物收容所就有一万三千只猫被杀死，占全国流浪猫的三分之一。
"We are confronted with a dramatic situation," said Jan Eyckmans of the Belgian health ministry. "So our minister asked the animal welfare council to come up with ideas."
来自比利时卫生部的简·艾克曼斯说：“目前我们面临到的境况非常严峻，所以我们部长要求动物福利委员会快速想出解决办法。”
The result is the Multi-annual Cat Plan 2011-2016, which says sterilisation is necessary "to halt the increase in the numbers of strays and cats collected in shelters".
出台的2011-2016年“多动物猫类计划”称阉割对于“抑制流浪猫和收容所里的猫的数量的增长”是至关重要的举措。
Initially, all cats in shelters will be sterilised. The next phase imposes neutering on cats from breeders and sellers. Finally, all cat owners will be obliged to have their pets sterilised and registered, costing about ?130 (＄166) for a female cat and ?50（＄64） for a male cat. Breeders and owners of Siamese, Abyssinian and other special pedigrees will be exempted from the new regime.
第一阶段要对收容所里所有的猫进行阉割手术。第二阶段要对喂养的猫和贩卖的猫进行阉割手术。第三阶段，要对所有家庭养的宠物猫进行阉割手术并登记，一只雌猫阉割手术费是130欧元（166美元），一只公猫是50欧元（64美元）。暹逻猫、阿比西尼亚猫以及其他稀少品种的猫的喂养者和主人免受制度的要求。
Many are sceptical about the proposal. "Not a good idea. It won't be easy. They'll never be able to sterilise all the cats," said Alan, who helps to run the Nos Amis Fidles kennels in Waterloo, south of Brussels.
很多人质疑此项提案，来自布鲁塞尔南边滑铁卢的艾伦说：“（这个提案）不是一个好主意，也没这么简单。他们不可能给所有的猫进行阉割手术。”艾伦在一家名叫“Nos Amis Fidles”的养狗场工作。
But the animal welfare council is strongly supportive of the scheme. "We don't want the cat to vanish from the earth," said Ann De Greef, "A cat can have one pregnancy every six months and 36 offspring in less than 16 months."
但是动物福利委员会非常支持这项方案，安妮·德·格里夫说 “我们也不希望把猫这种动物从地球上清除出去，但是一只猫每六个月就可以怀孕一次，不到16个月就能产下36个后代。
