It had been a typically blustery night on the Isle of Lewis. 路易斯岛度过了典型的狂风大作的一个夜晚。 Donald MacLeod ventured out to check on his birds, as he did every morning, but as he neared the aviary at the end of his garden, it was obvious something was wrong. 唐纳德.麦克劳德冒险去查看他的鸟儿们，这是他每天早上的惯例，不过当他靠近他园子尽头的鸟舍时，明显发现出状况了。
“The roof of the aviary had been cut off and was flapping in the wind,” he explains.
“鸟舍的房顶被切开了，在风中翻飞，”他解释道。
“My little barn owl, Scamp, was missing. Someone had broken in. They either took him or he managed to escape as they tried.”
“我的小仓鸮，斯坎普，不见了。有人闯进来过。他们要么把它偷走了，要么斯坎普在他们行窃过程中自己成功越狱了。”
MacLeod, a trained falconer, used the five-year-old barn owl to entertain children who came to stay at the bed and breakfast he runs with his wife on Lewis, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.
麦克劳德，是一名训鹰师，他利用这只五岁大的仓鸮来取悦那些来住店的孩子们，这个住宿加早餐旅店是他和他太太一起在苏格兰外赫布立群岛的路易斯开的。
“Scamp was a member of our family really,” says MacLeod. “I’m devastated that he’s gone.”
“斯坎普是我们家庭的一员，”麦克劳德说。“他不见了我太难过了。”
The break-in at MacLeod’s aviary is unusual for a number of reasons.
这次麦克劳德鸟舍的失窃案是非比寻常的，原因有几个。
Their bed and breakfast sits on a picturesque, but remote part of the wind-buffeted Lewis coastline – hardly a crime hotspot.
他们的住宿加早餐旅店坐落于风景如画但是毕竟遥远的防风的路易斯海岸——这里犯罪率很低。
Thefts of birds of prey, and particularly owls are also uncommon.
而盗窃捕食性鸟类，特别是猫头鹰也是很奇怪的。
But it is a crime that is being seen more and more frequently, according to those within the falconry community.
不过这种犯罪行为越来越频发了，据那些居住在有鸟区的人们说。
And there is a growing suspicion that they are being targeted for a reason – as a replacement for cash.
而它们之所以被罪犯盯上，人们越来越怀疑的动机是——为了尽快取得现金。
Globally, the number of non-cash payments are expected to reach almost 726 billion transactions by the end of the decade, an increase of 10.9% since 2015.
从全球来看，非现金支付的数额预计在十年之后将达到七千二百六十亿词交易，比2015年增长了10.9%。
In the UK, where just 40% of all payments are done with cash, there has been an increase in crimes involving birds of prey.
在英国，只有40%的支付是用现金完成的，而涉及到猛禽的犯罪则处在上升中。
And while a relatively common barn owl like Scamp may only fetch about £100 on the open market, rare animals like a female peregrine falcon could be worth at least £4,000.
而尽管像斯坎普这样普通的仓鸮在公开市场上只能卖到100英镑，而那些稀有的动物比如一只雌性的游隼则价值高达4000英镑。
A saker falcon, commonly found in Siberia, can fetch up to $75,000 on the illegal market.
一只猎隼，它们在西伯利亚比较常见，可以在黑市上卖到75000英镑。
Demand for these birds of prey in the Middle East has driven up prices in recent years, making it highly lucrative.
中东市场对猛禽的需求使得价格逐年上涨，使它们成为了高端奢侈品。
Birds bred and reared in captivity can be exported – often on special flights – provided the breeder can prove they have not taken the birds from the wild, but illegal trade in these birds appears to be growing.
人工饲养和饲养的鸟类可以出口——通常是在特殊的航班上——前提是育种者能够证明它们没有从野外带走这些鸟类，但这些鸟类的非法交易也似乎正在增长。
“I don’t know why he was taken, but to us Scamp was priceless,” says Donald MacLeod.
“我不知道它为什么会不见了，不过对我们来说，斯坎普是无价的，”唐纳德.麦克劳德说。
The police are still investigating his owl’s disappearance.
警方目前仍在调查他的猫头鹰失踪案。
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