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Releasing what they perceive to be captive animals into the wild is a Buddhist practice with a long history in China, and one which is now mired in controversy.
Micro-blogger "cora liebo" regularly posts list of animals "released" in the southwestern province of Yunnan, which have left jaws dropping all over China. One such posting in April listed bedbugs among the creatures released, along with 58 kilograms of snakes.
These releases have been going on for some years and have included many bizarre species, alien to Yunnan, including the notoriously invasive apple snail, which has caused severe damage to rice crops across Asia.
Rao Dingqi, an entomologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, described how alien species could damage Yunnan's fragile ecosystem.
"Taking golden apple snails as an example. It is a species from South America that has strong adaptive and reproductive capacity. It will damage paddy field ecology, affect the growth of crops and will reduce the population of native species, perhaps even to extinction," he said.
The forest public security bureau in the provincial capital Kunming are investigating the case.
Releasing animals into the wild dates back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC- 220 AD). The practice is thought to cultivate kindness, compassion and benevolence, and became popular when Buddhism was introduced to China.
A media report last month said that more than 300 foxes and raccoon dogs had been released in a suburban area of Beijing without authorization. Local people complained that the foxes had attacked their chickens.
According to Chinese law, freeing wild animals requires authorization, and the environment must be suitable for the animals' survival.
All the foxes and raccoon dogs were raised in captivity. The bureau recovered more than 100 foxes, many already dead, presumably from starvation as the animals were not equipped to survive in the wild.
Rao said, "Releasing animals cannot be done blindly. It is important to know about the animals' habitat and biological nature, and release them only in a place where they can survive."
Kunming police believe the unregulated releases have given rise to a black market for trafficking and hunting of wildlife. Legislation is needed to stop these releases, along with heightened public awareness, Rao said.
When examining an amendment to the wildlife protection law during a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on April 27, committee members suggested China should enhance supervision over animal releases.
