奇妙的朋友 还是莫名其妙的朋友

Wonderful Friends, a 3-month-long reality show on Hunan TV, came to an end on March 28th. But the debate it aroused is far from dying out.

湖南卫视真人秀节目《奇妙的朋友》历时三个月，已于上月28日完结。但是，因之而起的争论却从未停歇。

The weekly show features interactions between animals and six celebrities working as zookeepers in Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou. The show is a programming success for Hunan TV.

这档周播的真人秀节目聚焦动物与人类的交流，邀请了六位明星担当广州长隆野生动物园的（实习）饲养员。节目由湖南卫视制作，可谓大获成功。

“People are more interested in TV shows with celebrities than in documentaries,” animal protection expert Deng Xuejian told Netease News. “The program is a good way to get people closer to animals.”

动物保护专家邓学建在接受网易资讯采访时表示，“较之纪录片，人们更喜欢看有名人参与的电视真人秀。这档节目有助于人与动物建立更加亲密的关系。”

However, animal welfare advocates say that is exactly what should be avoided.

但是，动物保护主义者们却认为，这恰恰是应当避免之处。

“It is hugely misleading to the public about the needs and welfare of captive animals,” Dave Neale of Animals Asia, an advocacy group based in Hong Kong, said in a statement.

戴夫•尼尔来自总部位于香港的亚洲动物基金，他在一则声明中表示：“这档节目严重误导大众，让他们对圈养动物的需求与救助产生误解。”

In one scene, celebrities took two baby chimps out and competed to buy the best clothes for them. One of the two chimps suddenly became restless and bit Myolie Wu, one of the star zookeepers.

节目中，明星们曾带着两只猩猩幼崽去（游客区）买衣裳，比赛谁买得衣服更好。其中一只黑猩猩突然变得焦躁不安，并咬伤了明星饲养员胡杏儿。

In another scene a baby chimp was placed near its father to demonstrate that the older animal would treat the infant as a stranger. The baby becomes distressed and the chimp’s father appears anxious and throws a rock at the TV crew.

节目的另一幕中，为了证明成年黑猩猩会对自己的幼崽置之不理，小猩猩被放在了父亲的身边。小猩猩变得紧张不安，而大猩猩父亲也变得焦躁、并向电视台的工作人员扔石头。

The TV company created “stressful and harmful situations” to provoke entertaining storylines, said the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

世界动物园和水族馆联合会认为，节目方为了制造娱乐性的故事情节，将动物置于“有巨大压力和有害的场景”之中。

Despite the criticism, Animals Asia founder and CEO Jill Robinson has witnessed a significant rise in the number of Chinese citizens showing concern for animal welfare.

尽管遭到批评，但是正如亚洲动物基金创始人兼CEO谢•罗便臣所见，越来越多的中国人开始关心动物保护。

“When I first began working in the country from 1985 there was one welfare group in Beijing and now there are over 100 spread across every province,” Robinson said on the website of Animals Asia. “Today, we work with them to give a voice to wild and companion animals and provide a convincing argument as to why they should no longer be exploited as entertainment, ‘medicine’ or food.”

她在亚洲动物基金网站上写道，“1985年，我刚来到中国工作时，只有北京一家动物保护组织，而现在全国的动物保护组织已经超过100个，覆盖了全国各省。我们现在与这些组织一道努力，为野生动物及宠物发声，告诉人们为何不应将其作为娱乐的对象、‘药材’或是食物。”

But a lack of knowledge about animals’ habits and needs may lead to some wrongs.

但是，不了解动物的习性与需求，也可能导致一些错误的做法。

“Many people may think getting cuddly is an expression of love. What they don’t realize is wild animals need space,” Xie Yan, a zoologist and China director of the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society, told The New York Times. “Putting clothes on chimps is not as adorable as you may think from the animals’ point of view.”

解焱是总部位于在纽约的国际野生生物保护学会的动物学家与中国项目主任，他在接受《纽约时报》的采访时说：“很多人觉得爱抚是爱的表达，但他们不知道野生动物更需要空间。人们觉得给猩猩穿上衣服很可爱，但是在动物眼中却是另一回事。”

Better leave them alone

它们会独自生活得更好

Teaching chimps to dress could harm their health because it may raise their body temperature and also mentally confuse them.

教猩猩穿衣服可能会伤害它们的健康，因为穿衣服会使其体温升高，同时令其产生困惑。

In the world, it’s a common practice to use celebrities to focus public attention on wildlife protection. Yao Ming, for example, traveled to Africa last year to shoot a documentary for WildAid highlighting the problem of elephant and rhinoceros poaching.

在野生动物保护中，用名人效应吸引公众注意并不罕见。去年，野生救援推出纪录片《野性的终结》，记录了姚明远赴非洲了解大象和犀牛盗猎的见闻。

But in Yao’s case, human observers kept their distance, according to The New York Times.

但是，据《纽约时报》报道，在姚明的纪录片中，人类观察者与野生动物是保持距离的。

The debate has also gotten young people thinking. “Who doesn’t want to make friends with those cute animals who melt your heart? But after that sentiment, we should put ourselves in their shoes: Is this love what they need?” said Liu Yi, a 19-year-old animal medicine student at Qingdao Agricultural University.

这一争论也引起了年轻人的思考。今年19岁的刘祎是青岛农业大学动物医学专业的学生，她说：“谁不想和那些萌到心都化了的动物做朋友？但是在动心之后，我们也应该站在动物的角度想想，这真的是它们需要的爱么？”