提到澳大利亚的知名动物，袋鼠肯定是榜上有名。在很多人眼里，袋鼠也几乎成为了澳大利亚的象征。但是谁能想到，如今袋鼠也能给澳大利亚带来麻烦呢？
与一般动物数量减少乃至惨遭灭绝的境遇不同，袋鼠在澳大利亚的问题恰恰相反：太多了。
根据澳大利亚政府官方数据，2016年袋鼠数量接近4500万只，几乎是澳大利亚人口的两倍。而2010年，袋鼠的数量仅仅为2700万只。袋鼠数量的激增可能跟环境有关，因为充沛的降水导致袋鼠的食物资源变得十分丰富。
Government figures show there were almost 45 million kangaroos in 2016, which is almost double the human population of Australia. In 2010 the number was only 27 million, with the sharp rise blamed on rainy conditions producing wealth of food.
专家支招：吃肉
阿德莱德大学的副教授大卫·帕顿表示，澳洲人需要吃更多袋鼠肉，避免袋鼠被杀死后肉被浪费掉。
Associate Professor David Paton, from the University of Adelaide, said Australians needed to embrace kangaroo meat to avoid wasting their carcasses once they are culled.
帕顿表示，猎杀袋鼠时将采取比较人道的方法，而且要考虑被猎杀的袋鼠可以用来做什么，而不是让袋鼠尸体在保护区或者围场里烂掉。
He told ABC News: "If we're going to cull these animals we do it humanely, but we also perhaps should think about what we might use the animals that are killed for." He added: “We shouldn’t just simply leave them out in paddocks to rot or leave them in the reserves to rot.”
辣么，袋鼠多了有啥问题？
帕顿解释，袋鼠过多影响生物多样性。当然，这也不能怪袋鼠，而是人们没有早一点去制约它们，来防止袋鼠过多带来的危害。
Professor Paton went on to warn a large kangaroo population could pose a threat to biodiversity. “It’s not the kangaroos’ fault they’re overabundant, it’s probably we’ve just been too reluctant to take a stick to them, remove them out of the system sooner, to actually prevent the damage being caused," he said.
限制多多
澳大利亚对于猎杀动物有着严格的限制。各个州对于商业捕猎执照和物种扑杀都有限额。
Australia has strict regulations about the humane killing of the animals. Each state has rigid quotas on commercial shooting licences and species culling, based on sustainability levels.
每年，针对扑杀袋鼠的问题都会引发争议，反对者认为没有证据显示，减少袋鼠数量对环境有好处。
Each year the cull provokes controversy, with opponents suggesting there is no evidence that reducing kangaroo numbers helps the environment.
据澳大利亚政府环境部门网站介绍，袋鼠死后，其毛皮可用于出售或出口，但是袋鼠肉的需求并不高。此外，由于袋鼠可以说是澳大利亚的“国民动物”，吃袋鼠肉可能会受到非难。
The carcases of culled animals can be used for their hides and leather, which are then sold or exported. But their meat is often wasted because of a lack of demand, according to the Australian government's environmental website. Because kangaroos are Australia's national animal, eating of their meat remains quite stigmatised.
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