Each and every living being cherishes its life. Liberating animals into the wild is a custom that has special meaning in some Buddhist traditions. Often this will involve purchasing, blessing and then releasing animals that they have saved from being killed. Practitioners believe that this brings spiritual benefit to themselves and to the animals being released. However, despite such kind intentions, this practice does more harm than good if not very carefully researched. It often results in unintended harm both to the animal and the ecosystem into which the animal is released.
In January 2019, the issue was in the public eye after the New Zealand Herald published an article about individuals who do this practice here in Aotearoa. The article correctly warns that releasing animals in this way can be very harmful to our ecosystem.
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