What is the right way to release animals?

Animal release is a common practice in many religions and cultures, especially Buddhism. It is the act of releasing captive animals to help them escape death. The image of fish, birds, or other creatures being released back into the wild becomes a beautiful symbol of compassion.

The ceremony of releasing animals is commonly performed on many holidays, including Vu Lan and Xa toi vong (forgiving the dead) on the occasion of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, to expand compassionate activities and save suffering beings. At the same time, many people consider this a good deed to dedicate merit to deceased relatives.

However, today, many people do not understand and practice animal release in accordance with its original spirit, causing the released creatures to not be saved, and even stimulating hunting and trapping of animals. In addition, lack of understanding can also cause people to release creatures into the environment that destroy the ecological balance, causing serious harm to the lives of many other species.

What is the right way to release animals?

Here are some basic principles you need to keep in mind to release animals in a meaningful way and bring real benefits to animals and the environment.

Choose the right animal

Alien species can harm other organisms in the released environment by competing for food, competing for habitat, eating native species, and damaging the local ecosystem (some typical examples include golden apple snails, glass cleaner fish, and arapaima). Therefore, only native organisms should be released.

Animal health check

Before releasing an animal, check its health thoroughly. Weak or sick animals are more likely to have difficulty surviving release into the wild and need to be nursed back to health rather than abandoned.

Furthermore, releasing sick animals can spread disease to other species.

Choose the right release environment

Choose a place that has a friendly and safe environment for the animal to be released, because some species can only survive in certain environments. If released into a place that does not have the conditions suitable for its species, the creature will have difficulty surviving.

Avoid releasing animals in areas with high density of similar creatures, near industrial zones or places with a lot of human traffic.

Do not release animals for profit

There are many cases of exploiting animal release for business or profiting from the compassion of others. This goes against the spirit and true meaning of animal release. Always release animals from the heart, do not let this become a form of business.

Compliance with laws and environment

Release must comply with regulations on environmental protection and biodiversity.

When releasing animals, the person performing the release needs to combine it with promoting awareness of environmental protection and preservation for the surrounding community; sharing personal knowledge and experience can help many others release animals properly and responsibly.

Releasing animals on Vu Lan festival is a beautiful and meaningful tradition, showing compassion, respect for life and awareness of environmental protection. This action not only brings peace to the person performing it but also contributes to making society better. However, releasing animals needs to be done scientifically and with understanding to ensure real benefits for both the released creatures and the natural environment.