Tigers jumping through flames, horses rearing elegantly and elephants standing on their hind legs - animals have played a large role in Mexican circuses for generations.
老虎跳火圈，马群腾立表演，大象后腿站立…多年来，这些动物们在墨西哥马戏团的表演中发挥了巨大的作用。

But not for much longer, with Mexico's government banning the use of animals in performances last month.
但是这样的好景不会太长了，上个月墨西哥政府已颁布法令禁止马戏团使用动物表演。

Lawmakers in the Latin American country have given acts a year to adapt to the law, so the animal shows will go on for the time being - as these incredible pictures show.
为了适应这项法律，该国的法律制定者给出了一年的适应期，所以如图所示的动物表演暂时仍可看到。

These images, taken at a circus in Mexico City, show just how large a part animals play in Mexican performances.
这些拍摄于墨西哥城的一个马戏团的图片显示，在动物表演占了很大一部分
。

Tigers are seen jumping through fiery rings and dancing with matadors, all to the applause of the audience.
图片中我们可以看到老虎从燃烧的火圈中跳出，和打扮成斗牛士的演员们共舞，引起台下观众的阵阵欢呼。

Meanwhile elephants and horses are both seen rearing on their hind legs, as animals perform alongside Mexicans in a tradition that dates back more than 200 years.
除此之外，还可以看到大象和马群都用两只后腿直立站着的场景。动物们的这些表演一直伴随着墨西哥人，是一项可以追溯到200年前的传统。

But animal rights activists say the creatures are mistreated, leading them to celebrate the incoming change in the law.
但是动物权利保护者称这些动物受到虐待，法令的颁布对它们来说可喜可贺。

However, performers dispute this, saying the creatures are born and raised in the circuses they perform in and do not know another way of life.
然而，马戏团的表演者却不这样认为，他们说这些动物在马戏团出生、长大、训练、表演，除此之外，它们不懂得任何其他技能。

Armando Cedeno, president of the Mexican circus association, said 50,000 circus employees could lose their jobs, and as many as 3,500 would be affected by the changes.
墨西哥马戏团协会的主席阿曼多称，禁令的颁布会让马戏团的5万多名员工失业，超过3500头动物会受到影响。

He said: 'It is impossible to take these animals back to their natural habitat, because they would die.'
他说：“让这些动物重回大自然不太可能，因为它们会死掉的。”

Circus performers took to the streets of Mexico City to protest against the law, holding public shows without animals to highlight what performances will look like this time next year.
马戏团的演员们走上墨西哥街头抗议新法令，他们还举办没有动物参与的公共演出，以强调明年这个时候他们只能这样表演。

The animals are well fed, cleaned and cared for, the performers claim.
他们还声称，动物们都得到了很好的照顾，他们吃得好，住的地方也干净。

Any circuses found to be flouting the ban could be fined up to $70,000 and animals will be seized.
任何无视这项法令的马戏团都会被处以高达7万美元的罚款，而且动物也会被强行带走。

The ban is the latest in a wave of animal rights legislation passed in Latin American countries.
这项禁令是拉丁美洲国家近来在动物权利立法浪潮中最近通过的一项法令。

Six Mexican states have already banned the use of animals in the circus, as do South American countries, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Colombia.
墨西哥已有六个州禁止在马戏团中使用动物表演，颁布同样禁令的还有包括玻利维亚、秘鲁、巴拉圭和哥伦比亚等在内的几个南美洲国家。

Bullfighting is still legal in most countries, but some campaigners have called for it to end in Mexico.
斗牛在多数国家是合法的，但是也有人呼吁在墨西哥禁止斗牛。

Parts of Ecuador do not allow the final killing of the bull to take place in front of an audience.
在厄瓜多尔的部分地区不允许在观众面前屠杀公牛。