如今，風(fēng)靡各大社交媒體的不僅有網(wǎng)絡(luò)紅人，還有萌萌的網(wǎng)紅寵物?！安凰垺?、小貓“莉爾·巴布”、博美犬“小布”和哈巴狗“道格”等網(wǎng)紅寵物引來(lái)無(wú)數(shù)網(wǎng)友圍觀，同時(shí)也憑借其“明星號(hào)召力”，助力了動(dòng)物慈善事業(yè)的發(fā)展。

They have millions of followers on Instagram. They generate major profits for their owners. They are … pet influencers.

它們?cè)谏缃幻襟wInstagram上粉絲量達(dá)數(shù)百萬(wàn)，為其主人帶來(lái)了巨大的收益。這些小動(dòng)物就是網(wǎng)紅寵物。

Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, Boo the Pomeranian and Doug the Pug are just some of the internet’s star animals, who do everything from support worthy causes to promote major brands.

“不爽貓”、小貓“莉爾·巴布”、博美犬“小布”和哈巴狗“道格”只是網(wǎng)絡(luò)明星寵物中的一些代表。它們從事多種活動(dòng)，不僅支持一些有意義的事業(yè)，還做品牌推廣。

The death last Sunday of Lil Bub, a cat whose tongue was always hanging out due to genetic anomalies, inspired a wave of emotion that highlighted the internet’s power to elevate just about anything to cult status.

上周日（12月8日），莉爾·巴布的去世令許多人悲痛不已，這也顯示出網(wǎng)絡(luò)能把任何事物推上神壇。由于基因異常，莉爾·巴布的舌頭總是吐在外面。

“She was a ray of pure joy in my life and so many others,” said one Instagram user.

一名Instagram用戶說(shuō)：“她給我的生活帶來(lái)了純粹的快樂(lè)，對(duì)其他人來(lái)說(shuō)也是如此?！?/p>

Lil Bub rose to fame after her adoption in 2011, when her owner, music producer Mike Bridavsky, began posting photos and updates about her online. Her story garnered three million followers on Facebook, 2.4 million on Instagram and more than 800,000 on Twitter.

2011年，莉爾·巴布被收養(yǎng)后聲名鵲起，當(dāng)時(shí)她的主人、音樂(lè)制作人邁克·布里達(dá)夫斯基開始在網(wǎng)上發(fā)布她的照片，并更新她的動(dòng)態(tài)。她的故事在臉書上吸引了300萬(wàn)粉絲，在Instagram上吸引了240萬(wàn)粉絲，推特粉絲也超過(guò)80萬(wàn)。

Bub’s fame eventually caught the attention of scientists. In May 2015, researchers at the University of Missouri in the United States sequenced her genome as part of a project to determine what genetic variations had caused her adorable deformities.

莉爾·巴布的名氣最終引起了科學(xué)家的注意。2015年5月，美國(guó)密蘇里大學(xué)的研究人員對(duì)她的基因組進(jìn)行了排序，以確定哪些遺傳變異導(dǎo)致其舌頭出現(xiàn)異常，而這種異常又如此可愛(ài)。

Bridavsky also started a national fund for special needs pets, the first of its kind, with Bub serving as its face. “Bub has made a huge difference in the world of animal welfare and in the lives of millions of people worldwide,” Bridavsky wrote on Instagram, noting the fund has raised US$700,000 for “animals in need,” with US$75,000 raised in 2018 alone.

布里達(dá)夫斯基還為有特殊需求的寵物成立了一個(gè)全國(guó)性基金，也是首個(gè)此類基金，莉爾·巴布為其代言。布里達(dá)夫斯基在Instagram上寫道：“莉爾·巴布給動(dòng)物福利領(lǐng)域和全球數(shù)百萬(wàn)人的生活帶來(lái)了很大改變?！彼赋?，該基金已為“有需要的動(dòng)物”籌資70萬(wàn)美元（約合人民幣492萬(wàn)元），僅2018年就籌集了7.5萬(wàn)美元。

Over the course of her life, the cat, based in the US state of Indiana, lent her star power to multiple causes supported by Greenpeace and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

生活在印第安納州莉爾·巴布在其一生之中，憑借其明星寵物的號(hào)召力，支持了綠色和平組織和美國(guó)動(dòng)物保護(hù)協(xié)會(huì)的多項(xiàng)事業(yè)。

Since 2013, Lil Bub has also been the face of campaigns with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) promoting sterilisation and pet adoption.

自2013年以來(lái)，莉爾·巴布一直是善待動(dòng)物組織宣傳絕育和寵物收養(yǎng)活動(dòng)的形象大使。

Lil Bub “used her stardom to make the world a better place for animals”, Peta said in a tribute tweet. “Honour her legacy by remembering her message: always adopt, never shop.”

善待動(dòng)物組織在向莉爾·巴布致敬的推文上說(shuō)：莉爾·巴布“利用她的‘星光’讓世界對(duì)動(dòng)物來(lái)說(shuō)更加美好。我們尊重她的精神遺產(chǎn)，銘記她的理念：永遠(yuǎn)領(lǐng)養(yǎng)，遠(yuǎn)離購(gòu)買?！?/p>

While Peta campaigns director Ashley Byrne welcomes pet influencers’ charitable ventures, she is also adamant that the work must not come at the expense of the pets’ welfare.

雖然善待動(dòng)物組織的活動(dòng)主管阿什利·伯恩歡迎網(wǎng)紅寵物參與慈善活動(dòng)，但她也堅(jiān)稱這絕不能以犧牲寵物的福利為代價(jià)。

adamant [??d?m?nt]：adj.固執(zhí)的，堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的；堅(jiān)定不移的

Nobody should “treat animals as accessories or frivolous possessions”, she said. “It’s important for people with animals who have an audience on the internet to encourage their followers to treat their pets like members of the family.”

她說(shuō)：任何人“都不應(yīng)該把動(dòng)物當(dāng)成附屬品或可有可無(wú)的東西，網(wǎng)紅寵物的主人們要鼓勵(lì)其粉絲像對(duì)待家庭成員一樣對(duì)待他們的寵物，這很重要”。

frivolous [?fr?v?l?s]：adj.無(wú)聊的；輕佻的；瑣碎的

That, says animal talent manager Loni Edwards, is exactly what makes pet influencers so successful.

動(dòng)物人才經(jīng)理洛尼·愛(ài)德華茲說(shuō)，這正是網(wǎng)紅寵物們?nèi)绱顺晒Φ脑颉?/p>

Edwards’ talent agency, The Dog Agency, manages pet influencers of all species, from Bruno the fat cat to CEO Edwards’ own French bulldog.

愛(ài)德華茲的動(dòng)物代理機(jī)構(gòu)“狗狗代理”管理各種網(wǎng)紅寵物，從肥貓布魯諾到首席執(zhí)行官愛(ài)德華茲自己的法國(guó)斗牛犬。

“As a society, we’ve evolved so that we now think of pets as our children,” Edwards said in a November 2018 interview with Vox. “They’re such an important part of our lives.”

2018年11月，愛(ài)德華茲在接受Vox采訪時(shí)說(shuō)：“我們已經(jīng)進(jìn)化到把寵物當(dāng)成自己孩子的社會(huì)。它們是我們生活中重要的一部分?！?/p>

As of 2019, American households owned more than 42 million cats and 63 million dogs. The market for pet products in the US earned US$72 billion in 2018, according to the American Pet Products Association (Appa).

截至2019年，美國(guó)家庭擁有超過(guò)4200萬(wàn)只貓和6300萬(wàn)只狗。根據(jù)美國(guó)寵物用品協(xié)會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)，美國(guó)的寵物用品市場(chǎng)2018年收入達(dá)720億美元。

Additionally, since Instagram launched in 2010, the word “cat” has been used on the platform 193 million times and the word “dog” 243 million times.

此外，自2010年Instagram上線以來(lái)，單詞“cat”平臺(tái)使用量達(dá)1.93億次，單詞“dog”平臺(tái)使用量達(dá)2.43億次。

“Pets raise endorphins and make people feel happy,” Edwards said. “They are adorable to look at and are easier to connect with than human influencers. Human-facing brands want to work with pet influencers because they want to show that they align on the values of their consumer, and their consumer loves pets.”

愛(ài)德華茲說(shuō)：“寵物能提高人體內(nèi)的內(nèi)啡肽水平，讓人感到快樂(lè)。他們看起來(lái)很可愛(ài)，比網(wǎng)絡(luò)紅人更容易相處。面向消費(fèi)者的品牌想要與網(wǎng)紅寵物合作，因?yàn)樗麄兿胍故舅麄兣c消費(fèi)者的價(jià)值觀一致，而且他們的消費(fèi)者喜歡寵物。”

As a result, pet influencers can be incredibly lucrative.

因此，網(wǎng)紅寵物們可以帶來(lái)巨額利潤(rùn)。

英文來(lái)源：法新社

翻譯&編輯：yaning