In China, a traditional Buddhist ritual intended to “liberate life” led to mass deaths of cats. About this report South China Morning Post.
It is worth noting that the purpose of the “life release” ritual is to release animals to freedom as an act of compassion. However, this time the exercise ended in tragedy.
The incident occurred in southern Guangdong province. According to SCMP, a group of religious activists released more than 1,100 animals at Yingzui reservoir. They were transported in cages on two trucks.
“Upon opening the cage, many cats got scared. Some started climbing trees, while others jumped into the water, from where they could not escape due to exhaustion and drowned,” the document said.
It was noted that boatmen and locals tried to save the drowning animals, but they were only able to help a few. Additionally, the next day, animal rights volunteers arrived at the scene but most of the cats were in serious condition or had died.
According to police, there were 10 people participating in the ceremony; Their actions did not show signs of crime because they had committed similar actions before. At the same time, the public disagreed with such a conclusion, accusing the participants of the incident of cruelty and hypocrisy, and animal rights activists demanded tightening control of such practices.
