任性放生的人们，你们考虑过动物的感受吗？

前段日子，北京怀柔区附近出现数百只被非法放生的狐狸和貂，导致有的村民家饲养的家禽被咬死。据负责抓回狐狸的森林公安说，因不适应野生环境，有的狐狸饿死了竟被同类所食，发现时只剩一张皮。

无独有偶，黄山市黄山区某村前段也来了数十个外地人，他们将随之运来的152只狐狸放生，后被当地林业部门组织人员连夜抓回120，其余的不是死了就是无法找回。

除此之外，还有大量放生龟、鱼、鸟甚至蛇的放生致死或者破坏生态链的新闻在网上发酵，引发大家对于放生的思考。

今天，双语君也来跟大家聊聊这个话题，顺便大家一起学学跟放生和佛教相关的一些英文表达。

长久以来，中国被认为是世界上拥有最多无神论者的国家， 但同时也有庞大数量的人热衷诸如“开光”、“食素”、“灌顶”、“放生”、“捐功德金”等宗教仪轨。

China has long been recognized as the country with the largest number of atheists. However, this does not mean Chinese are against religious activities such as vegetarianism, burning incense and donating money to temples – in the hope their souls will be reborn on a higher plane of existence.

而这当中，被认为是功德最高、最易操作的“放生”受到普罗大众的热烈欢迎。

And among those practices, Fangsheng – saving animals from being slaughtered for food and releasing them into the wild – is one of the most popular.

然而，本意保护动物的“放生”见诸报端时却往往和“杀生”、“破坏生态平衡”、“危害周围居民人身安全”等质疑声联系在一起。

However, when it comes to media exposure, Fangsheng is connected to accusations, including, “killing animals instead of saving ones”, “damaging the eco-balance” and “disturbing local residents daily lives.”

之前在泰国还发生了这样的事情，人家明明是陆龟，被放生回水中，导致多只龟活活被淹死。他们这么做，考虑过陆龟的感受吗？

最新修订通过的《野生动物保护法》更是给未经批准的放生打上了违法的标签。

According to the revised Law on the Protection of Wildlife, adopted on July 2 by the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, it is illegal to release animals into the wild without authorization.

法律特别规定，任何组织和个人将野生动物放生至野外环境，应该选择适合放生野外生存的当地物种，不得干扰当地居民的正常生活、生产，避免对生态系统造成危害。随意放生野生动物，造成他人人身、财产损害或者危害生态系统的，依法承担法律责任。

“People and organizations should select species that can adapt to the places where they plan to set them free, to avoid disturbing local residents property and livelihoods, and to prevent damage to the local ecological system,” the law says. “Those who harm local ecology and bring personal or property damages on others through the unauthorized release of wildlife will face legal liabilities.”

这个事情让许多人陷入了疑惑：到底是哪一个环节出了错，是参与放生活动的动机？是筹款组织集体放生的形式？还是这件事本身就对生态保护不利？

And all of these have confused many innocent people who only want to do something nice and kind. They began to wonder which part has gone wrong.

1

放生是怎么变味了的?

这种带有强烈宗教意味的善举，参与仅需几块钱。

放生在佛教里，是有极高地位的。「诸余罪中，杀业最重，诸功德中，放生第一。」

In Buddhism, killing is the worst sin; while fangsheng could earn more merits than other.

功德最高不算，现在互联网发达了，参与放生也变得无比容易。随意搜索百度关键词“放生网”，返回结果数量超过182,000个。随便选择一个活动并网上付款若干，即可在功德榜上留名，自有人去实地放生操作。

Besides, the internet makes it easier for people to participate. You don’t even need to be there. Just Google “Fangsheng website”, and you can receive more than 182,000 results. One can leave one’s name on the wall after paying money online.

不同于造像捐功德金，放生不需要几千、几万，一元就可以参与。

Unlike building a statue of Buddha, Fangsheng doesn’t need thousands of yuan.

2

催生杀生产业链

随便点开百度贴吧上的“放生日记”都能感受到他们发自内心的感激：“自从放生后，梦见观世音菩萨几十次，得到的好处太多太多了！”

Randomly click on the diaries that fangsheng fans posted on website, you can feel their gratitude from the bottom of their hearts. “After doing fangsheng regularly, I have dream of Guanyin（The Goddess Of Mercy）. I have benefited so much from this!”

许多加入放生大军的人不外都经历过重大的人生挫折。莲（化名）就是其中之一。因为早产儿的疾病，她去网上倾诉求助，有好心人告诉她要给儿子念经。因为经文太长，她没坚持下来，后来又有人建议她放生，她坚持了数年，现在孩子已能叫“妈妈”，她自身的心脏问题也得到缓解。

Many join this activity simply to cope with frustration in their lives. Liu Lian is one example. She shared her son’s illness online in the hope that an expert would offer advice. A number of Buddhists suggested she read Buddhist scriptures to her son, saying that would help him. However, the scriptures were too long and she failed to persist in the activity. Later, they made another suggestion, Fangsheng. After years of doing this, her son could speak and call her “mom”.

现在她的QQ签名是一个特殊孩子的妈妈，因为放生而改命。

On social platforms, her intro is “a mother has changed her sons destiny.”

为了健康、钱财和子女去放生也许有些功利，更功利的行为莫过于利用众人的善心和信仰来牟利。

It may be very hypocritical for people to release animals to gain rewards of good health, better education opportunities for their children and even more money.

动物保护专家于凤琴曾经在鸟类市场做过调查，有些居士为了完成自己放生动物的心愿，与鸟类经营者预订要放生的鸟类，而经营者则根据市场的需求，向那些捕鸟的人下达订单。此后，捕鸟者会按订单去捕捉，然后将捕捉到的鸟送到鸟市，鸟类经营者便把它们卖给居士。如此往复循环，形成了这样一条恶性循环的产业链。

However, what is worse that some are making huge profit from people’s kindness. Yu Fengqin, a wildlife conservationist, has conducted market investigation of birds. She found that many Buddhists sent orders to bird market and sellers would capture birds from the wild. This has forged a vast illegal industry chain.

国家林业局总工程师严旬直言：“组织放生比一般贩卖动物利润更高，为什么呢？你是做善事的，你不可能跟他砍价。”

Yan Xun, chief engineer at the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management under the State Forestry Administration, said many religious believers or activists think they are doing good things, but they should not bargain with traders to show how faithful they are because of how much they pay.

“放生行业利润比医院黄牛还要高。”

“The profit that traders can get from trafficking in living animals is even higher than scalpers at the hospital.”

中科院动物研究所副研究员解焱介绍说，在大自然中，物种之间都是在相对固定的土地上，相互依存相互制约而共生共长，共同维护着这条生物链条。放生通常都是大规模的，这对当地生态平衡和生物多样性造成的影响是致命的。

Xie Yan, an associate research professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Zoology, said releasing animals without scientific guidance could have a negative impact on the ecosystem.”The eco-balance is formed naturally over the years, by its own development. The sudden intrusion of a large number of outside species could seriously damage the eco-balance,” she said.

一是外来物种没有天敌的情况下，会大量繁殖，威胁本地物种生存；二是它们极有可能携带本地物种没有抗体的病菌，造成本地物种感染死亡；三是它们自身无法适应新环境，或者缺乏野外生存能力而死去。

“If the animals being released have no natural enemies in the new habitat, their numbers could swell rapidly and threaten other species. Moreover, some of these animals have been raised in cages and they carry viruses. If other local species are infected by viruses for which they have no antibodies, they are likely to die,” she added.

“放生是必须要由专业人士来进行的，并以野生动物救助为首要目的。比如说为了种群恢复将人工繁育的动物放归，或者救助了受伤的野生动物之后放生。不能说你为了放生而放生，这是不对的，” 解焱补充道。

“It should be left to the professionals, individuals are unable to do this properly,” she said. “People should not release animals into the wild simply because they want to. The professionals only do so if injured animals have been treated and need to be reintroduced to their natural habitats, or in other specific circumstances.

3

宗教领袖发声

在宗教圈内部，领袖人物也发出了不同的声音。台湾星云大师更是直言“放生变放死”，“组织放生贩卖动物的人与诈骗集团没有差别”。

Although many people cite religious belief as their motivation for the unauthorized release of animals into the wild, religious leaders do not condone the practice. Master Hsing Yun, one of the most influential monks in Taiwan, said, “some people are not setting the animals free, just releasing them to die,” and “animal trafficking groups are scams”.

据了解，中国佛教协会早几年就发表过声明，呼吁佛教徒、信众能够合理放生，慈悲护生。声明认为，在放生的过程之中，如果不能选择适当的物种，选择合适的放声环境，不仅不能达到放生目的，反而容易造成这些物种的死亡，违背了放生的初衷。

Earlier, the Buddhist Association of China released a statement urging followers to adhere to the law when contemplating releasing animals.

It said if on release, animals that cannot survive in the wild means they will die – and that is totally against the original intent.

“真的是触目惊心，其实这些现象也得到了佛教界的反思，”中国佛教协会新闻发言人明杰法师说。

“Some of the activities are appalling, and triggered reflection among us,” Master Mingjie, the associations spokesman said.

中国佛教协会副会长学诚法师接受媒体采访，肯定了放生的意义，但同时强调消除和禁绝非法野生动物买卖是能够产生最大社会效益的“放生”，放生要不刻意求量，不从动物市场赎买，不择奇异陌生物种。

Master Xuecheng told the press that stopping wildlife trafficking is the best way to practice the Fangsheng concept. He said that releasing animals should not involve large numbers of animals, they should not be purchased from the market and should not be rare species.

“日常生活中的护生行为可以积极去做，例如把飞到房中的鸟放出去，雨后把爬到路上的蚯蚓捡回花坛等。对贩卖野生动物者，可向动物保护组织或公安部门报告，由他们解救动物，而不必购买。有条件者可参与动物保护组织、资助动物保护项目。另外可多种形式宣传戒杀护生、健康素食等理念，劝化世人戒杀护生。能劝得一人戒杀、吃素，就避免了很多生命被害。”

“We could do more in our daily lives, such as releasing birds that flew into our house. If we run into people selling wildlife, we could report to local police or wildlife protection organizations which will rescue the wildlife. We don’t need to pay money to rescue animals. If some really want to participate into this activity, I suggest them to join a wildlife protection organization or provide funding support.”

4

法律能管吗？

随意放生，危及物种安全，甚至威胁他人生命和社会秩序，这样的例子比比皆是。通过法律对民众放生行为进行规制，让随意放生者承担必要违法成本，可谓民望所归。

但是也有人提出质疑：这管用吗？毕竟如果管用，早管用了啊！以前也从来没有说允许随意放生啊。

举个例子，《中华人民共和国陆生野生动物保护实施条例》就明确规定，从国外或者外省、自治区、直辖市引进野生动物需要将其放生于野外的，放生单位应当向所在省、自治区、直辖市人民政府林业行政主管部门提出申请，经省级以上人民政府林业行政主管部门指定的科研机构进行科学论证后，报国务院林业行政主管部门或者其授权的单位批准。擅自将引进的野生动物放生于野外或使其逃至野外，由野生动物行政主管部门责令限期捕回或采取其他补救措施。

然而，鲜有人会按照流程来，获得有关部门的批准。

盈科律所的赵京慰律师称，最大的问题还是来自于执法成本过高，因为很难监测放生行为。法律上原则性的规定还不够，同时还要要做好事中监督和事后追责。

不过赵律师称，更为重要的是对公众的教育，避免违法行为的发生。

合法放生，从我们身边做起吧！

（编辑：何娜）

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