Latvian fined 50,000 euros for crushing ’golden’ eggs

（拉脫維亞人因為壓破「黃金」蛋被罰款5萬歐元）

【摘要2023.5.10.三.自由】◎管淑平

Latvia came down hard on a man who squashed the eggs of a protected bird species, issuing a 50,000-euro fine that his lawyers said valued them as if they were pure gold.

拉脫維亞嚴懲一名壓破一種受保護鳥類的蛋的男子，開出一筆5萬歐元罰款；這名男子的律師說這筆罰款金額是把這些鳥蛋視為如純金般貴重。

The incident dates back to the spring of 2021, when Artis Krumins rowed across a northern lake to an island inhabited only by wild birds. He came across the nests of black-headed gulls － a protected species － and crushed several eggs.

這起事件發生在2021年春天，亞提斯‧克魯明斯划船穿過一座湖泊，到一座只有野鳥棲息的小島，偶然發現受保護物種紅嘴鷗的巢，打破了幾個蛋。

"These 10 eggs are priced higher than if they were made of pure gold," his lawyers protested.

他的律師抗議說道，「這10顆蛋如果是純金做的，價格都沒有這麼高」。

Judge Lauris Shnepsts however remained unmoved, arguing that it was wrong "to compare precious wildlife with a piece of shiny metal". (AFP)

不過，法官洛里斯‧施內普茨不為所動，認為「把珍貴野生動物與一塊亮晶晶的金屬比較」是錯的。（法新社）

新聞辭典：

come down hard on：片語，嚴懲。例句：We should come down hard on these offenders.（我們應該嚴懲這些犯罪份子。）

unmoved：形容詞，不為所動的，堅定的。例句：No one can remain unmoved by the tragedy.（沒有人能夠對這起悲劇無動於衷。）