Hugging sheep eases loneliness

德国人“撸绵羊”缓解孤独

A German farm is offering people who are feeling deprived of human contact due to coronavirus restrictions an unusual alternative: the opportunity to cuddle a sheep.

德国一个农场为那些因新冠病毒限制措施导致无法与人接触的人提供了一个不同寻常的选择：拥抱绵羊的机会。

"We have marvelous sheep here who like it very much if they get visitors," said Lexa Voss, who runs an educational program on a farm near Hattingen in western Germany to encourage people to get closer to animals. "I allow people to visit the sheep unattended, and have a wonderful time with them in nature and far away from any masks and social distancing."

莱克萨·沃斯在德国西部哈廷根附近的一个农场开展了一项教育计划，鼓励人们亲近动物，她说：“我们这里的羊很不错，如果有游客来，它们会非常喜欢。人们可以在无人看管的情况下参观羊群，在大自然中与羊群度过一段美好的时光，不用戴口罩，也不用保持社交距离。”

Visitors have to book an appointment, but can get as close as they like to the shaggy sheep.

虽然该活动需要预约前往，但预约后便可以尽情地与毛茸茸的绵羊亲密接触。

The sessions are free of charge although visitors are asked for donations for the farm.

活动本身不收取任何费用，但是游客会被要求向农场捐款。