以前から話題になっている、子猫殺しの直木賞作家（ホラー作家)がこんな言い訳をしています。
この人は、自分の飼い猫が子供を生むと、その猫がまだ目も開かないうちに裏のがけに投げ捨てるとか・・・。
しかも避妊手術をするのは、猫の生命力の根源をたつことだとか、訳のわからないというか、つじつまの合わないことを言っている、ちょっと変な人です。
タヒチに住んでいて、ポリネシア政府は、坂東さんの行為を動物虐待にあたると、裁判所に告発する構えを見せているらしい。
以下の記事はこんなこと。
以前、日本経済新聞に書いた記事によって波紋が広がって、動物愛護団体が騒ぎ始め、ポリネシアの政府が裁判所に告発するという噂を聞いたこの人は、毎日新聞に、こんな言い訳の記事を送ったらしい。
◇坂東眞砂子さん寄稿…子猫を殺す時、自分も殺している
私は人が苦手だ。人を前にすると緊張する。人を愛するのが難しい。だから猫を飼っている。そうして人に向かうべき愛情を猫に注ぎ、わずかばかりの愛情世界をなんとか保持している。飼い猫がいるからこそ、自分の中にある「愛情の泉」を枯渇させずに済んでいる。だから私が猫を飼うのは、まったく自分勝手な傲慢（ごうまん）さからだ。
さらに、私は猫を通して自分を見ている。猫を愛撫（あいぶ）するのは、自分を愛撫すること。だから生まれたばかりの子猫を殺す時、私は自分も殺している。それはつらくてたまらない。
しかし、子猫を殺さないとすぐに成長して、また子猫を産む。家は猫だらけとなり、えさに困り、近所の台所も荒らす。でも、私は子猫全部を育てることもできない。
「だったらなぜ避妊手術を施さないのだ」と言うだろう。現代社会でトラブルなく生き物を飼うには、避妊手術が必要だという考え方は、もっともだと思う。
しかし、私にはできない。陰のうと子宮は、新たな命を生みだす源だ。それを断つことは、その生き物の持つ生命力、生きる意欲を断つことにもつながる。もし私が、他人から不妊手術をされたらどうだろう。経済力や能力に欠如しているからと言われ、納得するかもしれない。それでも、魂の底で「私は絶対に嫌だ」と絶叫するだろう。
もうひとつ、避妊手術には、高等な生物が、下等な生物の性を管理するという考え方がある。ナチスドイツは「同性愛者は劣っている」とみなして断種手術を行った。日本でもかつてハンセン病患者がその対象だった。
他者による断種、不妊手術の強制を当然とみなす態度は、人による人への断種、不妊手術へと通じる。ペットに避妊手術を施して「これこそ正義」と、晴れ晴れした顔をしている人に私は疑問を呈する。
エッセーは、タヒチでも誤解されて伝わっている。ポリネシア政府が告発する姿勢を見せているが、虐待にあたるか精査してほしい。事実関係を知らないままの告発なら、言論弾圧になる。
Kitten-killing novelist defends actions
Novelist Masako BandoMasako Bando, winner of the 116th Naoki literary award and now living in Tahiti, may face prosecution from French Polynesian authorities for her admission in a newspaper essay that she deliberately killed newly-born kittens.
The essay stirred strong protests from animal rights advocates when it appeared in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on Aug. 18. She did not sterilize the three female cats she kept as pets, and admitted to hurling the newborn kittens over a cliff as soon as they were born.
As of Sept. 19, the Nikkei has received 1,497 e-mail and telephone calls about the essay. Most have criticized her actions, saying that they are "cruel and disgusting," "violate the spirit of animal protection," and "disregard the value of life." She was also criticized for contending that killing a young kitten was the same as sterilizing an adult cat.
There were several comments, though, that sympathized with her and hoped that she would continue to write on the subject of life and death.
Bando, 48, contributed the following article to the Mainichi Newspapers to explain her reasons for her actions as she awaits possible criminal action in Tahiti. This week (Sept. 20 to 26) is Animal Protection Week in Japan.
* * *
I'm not very good with people. I get tense and nervous when I'm around others, and it's difficult for me to love other human beings. That's why I keep cats. The love that ordinarily would be directed toward other people is given instead to my pets. This allows me to maintain a world in which there is at least some form of love. It is because of my pets that I'm able to prevent my "fountain of love" from running completely dry. The reason I keep pets, therefore, is purely for self-serving reasons.
My cats serve as a mirror for me, for I can see myself through them. When I caress them, I'm caressing myself. And when I took it upon myself to kill newborn kittens, I was essentially killing myself. It was a truly painful and mortifying experience.
But unless I do something about the new litter, the kittens will grow up in no time and produce young of their own. The house will become full of cats. I may not be able to feed them all, and the kitchen is sure to become a mess. And yet, I can't bring myself to get rid of all my cats.
People tell me that I should sterilize my cats if I don't want to be overrun with young kittens. This is an option that modern society has embraced in order to keep pets without too much difficulty.
But this is something I can't bring myself to do. The scrotum and uterus are the sources of new life. To surgically remove them also means removing life energy and vitality. What if I were forced to undergo a sterilization operation? I may convince myself that this was unavoidable, given my lack of financial assets or ability. But in the bottom of my heart, I know that I don't want to lose my source of life energy.
Another thing that disturbs me about sterilization is that it is something performed on a lesser animal by a higher one. Homosexuals were neutered because they were regarded by Nazi authorities as being inferior humans. Lepers, too, were once sterilized in Japan.
If one approves of forced sterilization for animals, one could easily also apply this attitude to other humans. So I harbor suspicions about people who can claim, in good conscience, that pets should be sterilized.
The essay I wrote for the Nikkei has been misconstrued in Tahiti as well. The French Polynesian government may prosecute me, but I would ask that they carefully study my actions to determine whether they really constitute cruelty to animals. Without first ascertaining the facts, my prosecution would be tantamount to a suppression of the freedom of speech. (Mainichi)
