The Live-Sheep-for-Oil Trade Saga
“活羊换石油”贸易史与外交风波
From 1986, New Zealand began large-scale live-sheep exports to Saudi Arabia to meet demand for ritual slaughter during the Hajj, peaking at roughly 500,000 head a year; New Zealand ended the trade entirely in 2003.
1986年起新西兰开始向沙特阿拉伯大规模出口活羊以满足麦加朝觐期间的宰牲需求，高峰年出口量达约50万只；2003年新西兰全面终止这一贸易。
Between 2013 and 2015 the New Zealand government spent roughly NZ$11.5 million funding a ‘demonstration farm’ for that trader in Saudi Arabia to repair relations — a project that sparked domestic political controversy after large numbers of lambs died in the desert heat, prompting a formal 2016 inquiry by the Auditor-General. It is a winding tale in which a trade dispute ultimately produced cross-border agricultural-technology cooperation.
2013至2015年间，新西兰政府斥资约1150万新西兰元资助该商人在沙特建设示范农场以修复关系，却因羊羔在沙漠高温中大量死亡引发国内政治风波，2016年由审计长展开正式调查——是一段贸易纠纷最终催生跨国农业技术合作的曲折篇章。
References · 参考索引：RNZ News investigative reporting; Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) 2016 inquiry report.