为获政府赔偿 印度村民将老人送保护区喂老虎

印度某老虎保护区附近的贫困村庄频繁发生老虎咬死老人事件，调查结果发现，居然是村民自己将家中老人送到保护区内喂老虎，目的是获得政府赔偿。更令人意外的是，村民们没有否认罪行，而是解释说老人们都是自愿牺牲的，因为他们想要家人过上更好的生活。可以想见是怎样的贫困，才会让老人自己选择走上绝路。

In a horrifying trend recently reported by Indian media, poor villagers near the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve are allegedly sending their elderly relatives into the jungle as tiger prey, so they can then claim compensation from the government.

据印度媒体报道，印度最近出现一种可怕的现象：皮利比特老虎保护区附近地区的贫困村民为骗取政府的赔偿金而将家中老人送到保护区内喂老虎。

The disturbing tactic was discovered by officials at the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in Uttar Pradesh, who, upon inspecting several mauling sites near the tiger reserve, noticed evidence of foul play. In the most recent case, reported on July 1st, the mauled body of a 55-year-old woman was found in a field near her village, but bits of her clothes were found one kilometer away, in the tiger reserve, and tractor tracks leading into and from the jungle showed that the body had been relocated.

这一残忍伎俩被北方邦野生动物犯罪控制局一位官员识破。他在老虎保护区附近检查老虎伤人地点时发现了谋杀的迹象。报道称，最近一起案件发生于7月1日，一名55岁妇女横尸村庄附近的田地，尸体布满撕咬的痕迹。但她衣服的碎布却在1千米外的老虎保护区被发现，并且拖拉机轮胎痕迹都指向保护区，由此可推测她的尸体被移动过。

Tigers in the Pilibhit Reserve are allowed to run free, so if people venture into their territory, they are not eligible for compensation from the Indian government. If they are attacked outside the borders of the reserve, however, their families are eligible to receive important sums of money from the state. Following an unusually high number of reported tiger attacks on elderly people from villages near the reserve – seven deaths since February – wildlife officials began to suspect that something was off.

老虎可在皮利比特保护区内自由活动，因此如果是闯入老虎领地被咬伤或咬死的，政府有权不赔偿损失。若是在保护区外被攻击，伤者家属才有权向政府索赔。随着保护区附近村庄的老年人被老虎攻击的案件不断增多，从2月到现在已有7人死亡，野生动物保护官员开始怀疑事情有些蹊跷。

After gathering enough evidence, villagers were accused of deliberately sending elderly members of their communities into the jungle to be killed by the wild animals, so they could then claim compensation from the government. Instead of denying the claims, locals only added that the victims volunteered to forfeit their lives so their families could have a better life.

在收集了足够证据后，相关部门起诉了那些故意将老人送去喂老虎以便向政府索赔的村民。村民们并未否认罪行，只是解释说受害者都是自愿牺牲的，因为他们想要家人过上更好的生活。

“They think that since they can’t get resources from the forest, this is the only way their families can escape poverty,” 60-year-old Jarnail Singh, a farmer, told The Times of India.

当地60岁的农民贾奈尔•辛格告诉《印度时报》，由于他们无法再从被保护的森林里获取资源，这种向国家索赔的方式是许多家庭脱离贫困的唯一方式。

Kalim Athar, the WCCB official who arrived at the shocking conclusion after investigating the shocking attacks, has already submitted a report, and told reporters that the matter has been referred to the National Tiger Conservation Authority for further action.

野生动物犯罪控制局官员卡利姆•阿塔尔调查了这些惊人袭击案后得出了令人震惊的结论。他告诉记者，他已经将报告提交给国家老虎保护局，等候下一步行动。