喂食过量导致澳大利亚宠物肥胖率惊人
Australia is a nation of pet lovers but it may be loving its animals to death.
Pet owners are passing on rising levels of obesity by overfeeding their cats and dogs, the country's main animal welfare body says.
Despite its image as a sports-mad country full of fit, sun-bronzed youth, Australia in reality is battling the bulge and challenging the United States as the world's fattest nation.
The problem now extends to household pets.
Obesity rates for Australians have doubled over the past 20 years, with 62 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women now deemed overweight or obese.
The same trend applies to household pets, with an increase in the number of overweight cats and dogs being dealt with by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and even one case of an obese pet mouse.
"It's a big problem, and quite reflective of what's happening in the human situation," said Mark Lawrie, the RSPCA's chief vet.
Australia is a nation of 20 million people, almost 4 million dogs, 2.5 million cats, 8.7 million pet birds and more than 12 million pet fish.
It has one of the world's highest rates of pet ownership at 64 per cent of households, compared to 62 per cent in the United States and 44 per cent in Britain.
Lawrie told Reuters surveys had found that between 40 and 44 per cent of dogs and more than one in three household cats were now overweight, due to poor diet and a lack of exercise.
Fat cats and dogs were more vulnerable to diabetes, arthritis, heart problems and liver disease.
Dogs most at risk were Labradors, Beagles and cross-breeds such as Labradoodles - a mixture of a Labrador and a Poodle - with household moggies more at risk than other types of cats.
The RSPCA said de-sexing and lower levels of exercise had an impact on pet obesity, but the key issue was over-eating. 喂食过量导致澳大利亚宠物肥胖率惊人(图)
澳大利亚是一个热爱宠物的国度。但是，由于宠物主人们对自己的猫猫狗狗过于疼爱，总是让它们吃得太多，这导致该国宠物肥胖率高得惊人。要知道，过分的爱往往会带来伤害。
据路透社5月24日报道，尽管提起澳大利亚，人们的脑海中会出现一个为运动而发狂的国度，大街小巷到处都可以见到拥有健美身材、皮肤被太阳晒得黝黑的青年人。但事实却并非如此，澳大利亚是世界上数一数二的“肥胖大国”，近些年来，其肥胖者人数不断增多。相关的数据显示，在过去20年中，澳大利亚的肥胖率增加了1倍。目前，该国有62%的男性和45%的女性被认为体重超标或肥胖。
现在，这种情况又扩大到了该国的宠物身上。这些生活在澳大利亚的宠物也不能幸免地遭遇了肥胖。
现在，经由该国动物福利组织、防止虐待动物皇家协会(RSPCA)所治疗的超重猫狗的数量正在不断增加，在众多肥胖宠物中甚至还包括一只肥嘟嘟的宠物鼠。该协会的首席兽医马克·劳瑞尔对此表示：“这是一个大问题，它反应出人们正面临着什么样的处境。”
澳大利亚全国人口虽然只有2000万，但它却拥有400万只狗、250万只猫、870万只宠物鸟和超过1200万只宠物鱼。澳大利亚的宠物饲养率为世界最高，64%的人家都养有宠物。而另外一个饲养宠物的大国则是美国，饲养率为62%，其次是英国，44%。
劳瑞尔对路透社记者表示，有调查显示，由于饮食不合理及缺乏锻炼，现在该国有40%至44%的宠物狗、超过三分之一的宠物猫体重超标。而肥胖的猫狗更容易出现糖尿病、关节炎、心脏病和肝脏疾病。
澳大利亚防止虐待动物皇家协会表示，尽管为宠物绝育以及缺乏足够的锻炼对宠物肥胖率负有一定责任，但是导致猫狗超重的主要因素则是饮食过量。有很多宠物主人在宠物向他们索要食物时，总是不忍心拒绝其要求。 | 
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