How to release animals into the wild correctly?

Việt Nam•30/08/2023

While I was rinsing the teapot to make tea, my neighbor, Uncle Ly, with his pants legs uneven, ran over, speaking as if he were asking for help:

Do you know any place that sells birds? Please tell me!

Looking at my neighbor's expression, I almost burst out laughing.

Let's have a cup of tea first. We'll think about the birds later.

My wife, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, called out:

-Has Uncle Ly's family held the Mid-Autumn Festival ceremony yet?

The neighbor scratched his head:

"I'm completely exhausted, sir! Sincere prayers are all that matters, but my wife is making up all sorts of things. She said last year we released our birds into the water, and this year we'll release them into the sky. So she sent me to buy some. But I've never bought or sold anything before, so how would I know?"

Feeling sorry for my neighbor, I comforted him:

-She has good intentions. But releasing animals requires understanding the process first before doing it correctly. Doing it wrong could cause harm!

My neighbor's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth agape:

-Really? I thought releasing animals meant just buying something and letting it go.

My wife, having finished washing the dishes, also joined the conversation:

-Releasing animals into the wild, or freeing them, is about giving life to other species, including humans and animals. During the full moon of the seventh lunar month, our people often perform this ritual. We must understand that releasing animals is about freeing them from poverty and saving the lives of people and animals in difficult circumstances or facing threats to their lives. It can also be understood as granting longevity, blessings, and saving the lives of other species.

The neighbor stammered:

-I thought...

My wife continued:

- Helping or releasing people who are in trouble, facing difficulties, threatened with death, or imprisoned, returning them to their families and society (of course, with legal permission) is also called liberation. Similarly, buying or requesting to release animals that are being kept in captivity or being traded for slaughter, and then releasing them back into their natural habitat, or freeing stranded fish or birds caught in nets, is also considered liberation.

The neighbor nodded in agreement:

-Now that you've explained it, I understand what releasing animals into the wild means. Before that, I didn't understand anything at all.

My wife added:

-Understand it, then do it right. You're planning to buy birds to release, right? But do you know that to sell you birds, people have to catch them? And then release them? Isn't that pointless? Not to mention the process of catching and confining them also harms them. If you bring wild birds down to the city and release them, sooner or later they'll fall into traps set by professional bird trappers or die. So, is it release or killing?

The neighbor nodded vigorously again:

-That's right...that's absolutely correct. That's not doing good, it's causing trouble. No, no...I'm not buying any more birds or anything like that!

Seeing that, I also chimed in:

-If everyone understood things like you do, we wouldn't see fish and snails from clean rivers and lakes being caught and released into polluted ponds and swamps. Taking animals from a good habitat to a polluted environment is tantamount to killing them. Not to mention it disrupts the ecosystem and throws off the natural balance.

The neighbor suddenly remembered something and said:

Yesterday or the day before, I saw on TV that they were talking about this issue, but it was about turtles. These animals are being hunted and traded rampantly, threatening them with extinction. Scientists are working hard to conserve endangered turtle species and are seeing good initial results. They advise against hunting and trading, and to report any sightings to authorities immediately… this is also a way of releasing turtles. Scientists also warn that if people don't understand the risks, releasing them can be very harmful to the environment. For example, some people release red-eared turtles. This is an invasive species that harms the ecosystem. If we continue releasing them indiscriminately, we will eventually pay the price.

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder, saying:

-Instead of catching animals in one place and releasing them in another, the best way to practice compassion is to limit our consumption of food from animals that are becoming scarce and endangered, right, Uncle?

The neighbor chuckled:

-Absolutely perfect…

Xuan Hoa

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