【雅思课外精读】疫情之下，狗市供应链是如何被打乱的？

　　【雅思课外精读】疫情之下，狗市供应链是如何被打乱的？

　　The dog business

　　狗狗生意

　　Rising puppy prices

　　小狗价格上涨

　　Demand is up, and the canine supply chain is vulnerable

　　需求在上升，犬类供应链也很脆弱

　　1. “I DESPERATELY WANTED a Labradoror a Basset hound,” says Imogen Patton, amaternity nurse from Somerset. “I had to give up, because all the breeders said their pups were sold out before they were even born.”

　　“我非常想要一只拉布拉多或巴吉特猎犬，”萨默塞特的妇产科护士伊莫金·巴顿说。“我不得不放弃，因为所有的饲养员都说他们的幼崽在出生之前就被卖光了。”

　　2. A dearth of puppies was not among the shortages anticipated as a result of the crisis, but Britain is suffering from one. Families looking for ways to entertain their offspring and adult children worried about lonely aged parents are after them. But rocketing prices are driven up not just by the increase in demand: dog-market developments have made the supply chain vulnerable to disruption.

　　受金融危机的影响，小狗供应不足并不在预料之中，但是英国目前正在面临这方面的问题。寻找娱乐方式的家庭和担心孤独年迈的父母的子女都在关注这这些狗狗。狗狗价格疯涨不仅仅是由于需求增长的推动，还由于狗狗市场的发展使得供应链容易受到影响。

　　3. Pedigree hounds used to be working dogs—breeds created by Victorian aristocrats in a period of heady innovation that produced most modern canines. Pet dogs were mongrels, until rising disposable incomes turned pups into luxury items and drove up demand for Kennel Club-registered breeds. In the past decade a new trend has emerged: the designer crossbreed. These posh mongrels with pure-blood parents are outstripping their pedigree Kennel Club cousins in popularity (see chart). But they are just as difficult to produce.

　　纯种猎犬曾经是一种工作犬，是维多利亚时代的贵族们在那个锐意创新的时期培育出来的品种。宠物狗曾是杂种狗，人们可支配收入的真假使小狗成为奢侈品，而这也增加了人们在养犬俱乐部登记新品种的需求。在过去的十年中出现了一种趋势：杂交狗。那些纯种血统的时髦杂种狗的受欢迎程度超过了纯种狗。而它们也同样难以生产。

　　4. In contrast with the parents of bog-standard mongrels, which have little trouble hooking up, pedigree bitches and studs are often separated by geography. Lockdown has created an unexpected barrier. “I couldn’t travel to visit the stud dog,” laments Julia Porter, a breeder of Norfolk terriers from Herefordshire. Stranded miles from suitable partners, her pooches have been spared a spring of pregnant servitude.

　　普通纯种狗配种遭遇的问题并不大，而纯种杂种狗配种却常常受到地理因素阻碍。疫情大封锁造成了意想不到的障碍。。“我没法去接触到种犬，”来自赫里福德郡的诺福克梗饲养员茱莉亚·波特哀叹道。她的狗狗们被困在数英里之外的地方，接触不到种犬。

　　5. Even where breeders own both stud and bitch and the puppy production-line is thereforeunimpeded, there is some reluctance to satisfy the onrush of new customers. “Some people, you can just tell by the language—‘have you got any pups for sale’ or ‘have you got any girls’—and you can tell by the grammar and spelling,” says Brian Dash, who breeds Labrador retrievers. By contrast Stephen Charlton, who breeds Cockapoos, does not screen his customers’ grammar. “I’ve never had to shine a spotlight on anybody to see if they are worthy of having a puppy,” he says. “That mentality is prevalent within the Kennel Club’s high-end, behind-closed-doors breeding world.”

　　即使那些拥有种犬和母狗，培育生产线完整的商家，也不愿满足蜂拥而至的客户需求。拉布拉多猎犬的培育者布莱恩·达什说:“有些人，你可以通过语言来判断（他们是否值得拥有一只狗狗）——‘你有小狗出售吗’或者‘你有女孩吗’——你还可以通过语法和拼写来判断。”相比之下，斯蒂芬·查尔顿(Stephen Charlton)，他饲养可卡布是可卡犬和贵宾犬的杂交品种)，并没有过滤客户的想法。他说:“我从来没有把聚光灯打在任何人身上去看他们是否值得拥有一只小狗，这种判断客户是否合格的做法在养犬俱乐部的高端饲养世界中很普遍。”

　　6. Yet many breeders are concerned that lockdown will prevent new puppies from socialising with other puppies, and that owners will dump them once lockdown is lifted. “The only safe thing a breeder can do at the moment is hang on a few more weeks,” says Esther Bannister, a German-shepherd breeder. “I’ve actually told the Kennel Club to take my name off their ‘Find A Puppy’ list.” The reticence of some is driving up prices for more mercenary breeders. “‘Greeders’ is what I would call them,” says Mr Charlton, who worries that unscrupulous profiteers are turning the trade into a “click and collect’’ delivery service.

　　然而，许多培育者担心，一级防范禁闭会阻止新生幼犬与其他幼犬的社交活动，一旦一级防范禁闭解除，主人就会将它们抛弃。德国牧羊犬饲养员Esther Bannister说:“目前饲养员能做的唯一安全的事就是再坚持几周。”“事实上，我已经告诉养犬俱乐部把我的名字从他们的‘寻狗启事’名单上去掉。有些人的沉默，正推高了更唯利是图的育种者的价格。查尔顿表示:“我把他们称为‘贪婪者’。”他担心，肆无忌惮的奸商正将交易变成一种“点击提货”的送货服务。

　　7. One consequence may be new sources of supply. The Dogs Trust, a charity, fears that criminal gangs are now bringing pregnant dogs into the country from Romania. Another is that some customers are trading down. “People are selling German shepherds that aren’t even pedigrees,” says Catriona Stevens, an outraged breeder. Perhaps even the authentic mongrel will have its day again.

　　这导致的其中一个结果就是新的供货源。慈善机构狗狗信托担心犯罪团伙正把怀孕的狗从罗马尼亚带到英国。另一个原因是，一些客户正在降级消费。“人们在卖甚至连血统都没有的德国牧羊犬，”一位愤怒的饲养员Catriona Stevens说。也许即使是真正的杂种狗也会有东山再起的一天。