英首相官邸の猫ラリー、「ロシア」の子猫がライバルに

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英ロンドン・ダウニング街１０番地にある首相官邸の「ネズミ捕獲長」として知られる猫のラリーが、その地位を脅かされている。相手はかわいい「ロシア」の子猫だ。（写真は、英ロンドンのダウニング街１０番地、首相官邸に住む猫のラリー）
　７月の英下院総選挙で圧勝した労働党のキア・スターマー党首は首相就任に伴い、家族と共にペットの猫「ジョジョ」を官邸に連れてきた。
　スターマー家の子どもたちは他にもジャーマン・シェパード・ドッグを飼いたがっていたが、「交渉」の結果、ジョジョの他に新たにシベリア原産とされるサイベリアンの子猫を飼うことになったという。
　現在１７歳になる雄のラリーは、官邸のネズミを駆除するために２０１１年に保護猫団体から引き取られた。当時のデービッド・キャメロン首相はラリーの職務遂行能力に不満を示すこともあったが、この１３年間、ラリーはネズミ捕獲長として官邸に君臨。報道関係者の間で人気となり、自身の公式ＳＮＳアカウント「＠Ｎｕｍｂｅｒ１０ｃａｔ」も持っている。
　ラリーの死に備え、エリザベス英女王の死去に備えた行動計画「ロンドン橋作戦」を思わせる「ラリー橋」というコードネームを持つ綿密な計画まで用意されていることも明らかになった。
　こうした中、慈善団体「キャッツ・プロテクション」の獣医師、サラ・エリオット氏は、官邸が新たな猫を迎え入れるのを歓迎。
　一方で、「首相一家は、ダウニング街で拡大しつつある猫連合の新入りを先輩のラリーとジョジョに時間をかけて紹介する必要がある」とし、「ラリーのような高齢猫は子猫のエネルギーに疲れてしまうこともあるため、子猫の元気さが有り余っている時は、隠れて静かに過ごせる場所も必要だ」と助言した。
　ラリー自身は３日、ネズミ捕獲長は今も自分だとの立場を明確にし、「あの子猫はラリー・ザ・キャットの直属の部下になる」とＳＮＳで発表した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/04-17:04）

Larry the Downing Street cat is facing a challenge to his position as the British government's chief mouser -- a cute Russian kitten.
New prime minister Keir Starmer and his family, who moved into Number 10 after the Labour leader's thumping general election win in July, brought their family cat JoJo with them.
Now after negotiations with the Starmer children -- who had wanted a German Shepherd dog -- it has been agreed that Jojo will also be joined by a Siberian kitten.
There's been a long summer of negotiations, back and forth, different options, Starmer told BBC radio in an interview broadcast on Monday.
But now we've gone for... a kitten instead of a dog, he added.
But Larry has been top cat at the British prime ministerial residence in central London for the last 13 years.
The 17-year-old tabby was adopted from a cat rescue charity in 2011 to keep the Downing Street mice at bay, although then premier David Cameron revealed his performance left something to be desired.
Despite that, Larry has become a media star -- particularly popular with journalists -- and even has his own social media account @Number10cat.
Starmer -- Larry's sixth prime minister -- revealed that feline rivalry was not the only issue with having pets in Downing Street.
The problem we've got, which is the same for JoJo the cat, is that the only door out of our new flat is bomb proof, he said.
Therefore, getting a cat flap is proving a little bit difficult, he added.
- 'Larry Bridges' -
Given Larry's celebrity status as the greatest survivor of the political upheaval of recent years, officials have even drawn up a detailed plan in the event of his death.
Like that for the late Queen Elizabeth II, which was codenamed London Bridge, Larry's plan has been dubbed Larry Bridges.
The arrival of the Starmers' new pet was welcomed by Sarah Elliott, central veterinary officer for the charity Cats Protection.
But she added a few words of advice for the Starmers as they try to integrate the new addition.
As the junior member of the growing cat coalition at Downing Street, the prime minister and his family will need to take plenty of time to slowly introduce the new addition to JoJo and Larry.
And she added: Young kittens can be exhausting for older statesmen like Larry, so he'll also need a safe, quiet area to retreat to when the energy of a younger member of the team gets a bit too much, she added.
Larry himself on Tuesday made it clear he was very still very much in charge.
The kitten will REPORT to Larry the Cat, he said on X, via the human running his social media account.