猫生艰难！英国外交部捕鼠官被“制裁”，或因工作效率变低

英国外交部“捕鼠官”帕默斯顿曾因战果累累获好评，但最近外交部员工却被禁止给它喂食，因为有人担心帕默斯顿太受欢迎，吃成肥猫，导致捕鼠效率变低。

Palmerston the cat has become a popular addition to the Foreign Office. But senior diplomats are concerned that he has become rather too well-loved.
猫咪帕默斯顿已经成为英国外交部的红“猫”。但外交部的领导们担心他受到了过分关爱。

Staff have been asked to avoid giving the department's chief mouser tidbits to eat amid office rumors that he has become less effective at his job of catching mice.
外交部员工被禁止给帕默斯顿喂食，因为部里传言，这位“捕鼠官”的工作效率变低了。

帕默斯顿本是一只无家可归的流浪猫，每天在伦敦街头晃荡。后来被动物保护组织Battersea Dogs and Cats Home收养，再后来被英国外交部相中，2016年4月正式成为外交部首席捕鼠官。

他的工作职责就是在外交部的大楼里抓老鼠，让外交大臣们有一个安心舒适的办公环境。

帕默斯顿刚刚上任就获得了超高人气，BBC、Buzzfeed等外国媒体的记者都排着队采访他。

帕默斯顿甚至开始“学习”外语，与外国粉丝互动。

Palmerston explained on his social media account that like all good diplomats he was 'learning a new language to engage his followers.'
帕默斯顿在自己的社交媒体账号上“解释”称，和其他优秀的外交官一样，他正在“通过学习一门新语言来吸引粉丝”。

He then followed up in perfect Japanese: 'Hello, people of Japan! I wonder if there are any mice around (meow).'
随后他用流利的日语“写道”，“日本的朋友，你们好！不知道你们那里有老鼠吗？”

不过，要想坐稳外交部“捕鼠官”的位置，可不止拍拍照、撩撩粉这么简单，据英国《电讯报》30日报道：

A memo sent out to directors in the government department earlier this week asked them to ensure that the black-and-white tomcat was not fed by their staff.
本周早些时候，外交部领导发出的备忘录要求他们确保外交部员工不再给这只黑白相间的公猫喂食。

Sources suggested that while most staff had not noticed a change in Palmerston's waistline, senior management were keen to keep tabs on the cat's calorie intake, prompting speculation that his mousing skills had fallen below par.
有消息认为，虽然大多数员工并没有注意到帕默斯顿的腰围有所改变，但高层管理人员却密切注意这只猫咪的卡路里摄入量，这令人怀疑帕默斯顿的捕鼠技能已经低于平均水平。

The office of the Permanent Under Secretary of State Sir Simon McDonald is in charge of the welfare of the sole feline member of Foreign Office staff.
作为英国外交部唯一的猫咪雇员，帕默斯顿的福利待遇由外交部常务秘书西蒙•麦克唐纳的办公室管理。

They are keen to ensure he returns to his handler to be fed so they can keep on top of what exactly he is eating.
他们迫切希望能重新确保由帕默斯顿的管理者喂养他，这样就可以确切掌握他的饮食情况。

A spokesman for the Foreign Office declined to comment but confirmed the message had been sent out to senior staff to pass on to their teams.
一位外交部发言人拒绝对此置评，但他确认外交部高层职员已经收到这份备忘录，并通知各自的下属。

Figures released in September last year under Freedom of Information laws revealed that the cat had been spotted catching 27 rodents since its arrival.
去年9月根据信息自由法公布的数据显示，自帕默斯顿入驻外交部以来，人们发现他共捕获27只啮齿动物。

But the release also said the figure was likely to be an understatement as the cat was likely to have caught mice when staff were not watching.
但是公开文件也表示，这个数字很可能远低于实际水平，因为帕默斯顿很可能在工作人员没有注意的时候抓住了老鼠。

此前，英国首相官邸的“捕鼠官”拉里就因“好吃懒做”而被“炒鱿鱼”。据《每日邮报》网站2012年报道，2011年走马上任的“捕鼠官”拉里由于过于贪睡，玩忽职守，一年才捉到一只老鼠，被英国时任首相卡梅伦以玩忽职守为由“解雇”。由英国财政大臣乔治·奥斯本家的宠物猫弗雷亚接替拉里的职位。当然，为了避免给拉里带来心理伤害，卡梅伦允许他继续留在首相府中生活。

好在后来弗雷亚因为曾经走丢又出现，被怀疑是间谍，没多久就被发配到乡下，从此离开了唐宁街。拉里才又重回过去高枕无忧的日子。

英文来源：电讯报，每日邮报
编译：董静
审校：yaning