又中又英 | Beggars belief | 褚簡寧

　　News reports about a dog killing a 33-year-old woman who was feeding the dog at a Ta Kwu Ling animal shelter horrified me. Equally horrifying were news reports about a large dog killing two small dogs in Yuen Long. The large dog's owner had let it out unleashed and unmuzzled. The reports said the dog had attacked smaller ones before. It beggars belief that the government has allowed the owner to keep such an unruly dog. The expression “beggar belief” means something that is hard to believe. An unruly dog is a dog that is hard to control.

　　Officials have arrested the dog owner and finally took away the dog. The government should throw the book at the dog owner. To throw the book at someone means to punish that person as severely as the law allows. Other owners have now said their small dogs had also been attacked by large dogs in the past. I have said before that many Hongkongers don't properly train their dogs. The Yuen Long dog attacks reminded me of the government’s new policy to allow dogs in restaurants which apply for a permit.

　　There have already been reports of some dogs jumping onto tables and owners using restaurant utensils to feed their dogs. What if a large dog attacks a person or a small dog in a restaurant? The government’s policy is unclear about dogs that defecate (shit) in restaurants. Restaurants can charge a fee to clean and disinfect the area or require dog owners to clean up. But restaurants must still disinfect the area. It would be impossible for me to continue eating if a dog defecates near me!

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　　根據新聞報道，一名33歲女子在打鼓嶺動物收容所餵狗時，那隻狗咬死了她，令我甚為驚恐。同樣震驚我的，是新聞報道元朗一隻大狗咬死了兩隻細狗。大狗的狗主容許牠沒繫狗繩又不戴口罩。報道指，那隻大狗之前已有攻擊過細狗。政府容許該狗主養這樣一隻難以控制的狗（unruly dog），實在匪夷所思（beggars belief）。習語beggar belief是指某事荒謬得令人難以置信。An unruly dog就是難以管束的狗。

　　官員已拘捕狗主，最終帶走了狗隻。政府應該向狗主throw the book－－to throw the book at someone是指以法律狠狠判罰某人，將其從重治罪。現在有其他狗主說，他們的小狗過往亦曾被一些大狗襲擊。我以前便已說過，許多香港人並未正確訓練他們的狗隻。元朗狗襲擊事件令我想起了政府的新政策，就是容許狗隻進入申請了准許的食肆。

　　已經有報道指，一些狗隻跳上餐廳的枱面，狗主又用餐廳的餐具餵狗。如果一隻大狗在一間餐廳內襲擊一個人或一隻小狗那怎麼辦？政府的政策並未清晰講解，狗隻在餐廳內大便（defecate）時又如何。餐廳可以向狗主收取清潔和消毒場地之費用，又或要求狗主自行清理，但餐廳仍必須消毒場地。如果有一隻狗在我附近大便（defecates），我不可能還吃得下飯！

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻