The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) has called on Buddhist monastics and lay practitioners across the country to ensure that the traditional practice of releasing animals during the annual Vu Lan festival does not contribute to wildlife trafficking, animal suffering, or environmental damage.
In a directive issued on 18 August, the VBS Executive Council called for phóng sinh, or the Buddhist practice of releasing captive animals, to be carried out in accordance with Buddhist teachings on compassion and non-harming, while taking into account the welfare of animals and local ecosystems. The directive comes ahead of this year’s Vu Lan, or Filial Piety Festival, which this year falls on 27 August, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, chairman of the Executive Council, described phóng sinh as a traditional practice expressing respect for and protection of life. Its true meaning, he said, was “to rescue living beings in danger or facing the risk of being killed and create conditions for them to continue living in an appropriate natural environment.” (UCA News)
Ven. Thich Thien Nhon cautioned practitioners against pursuing “form, quantity, or notions of praying for favors and avoiding misfortune.” (UCA News) The VBS directive similarly emphasizes that animal release should arise from compassion and wisdom rather than becoming a mandatory ritual or a means of seeking material or spiritual benefits.
The VBS called on monasteries, monks, nuns, and lay Buddhists not to order or purchase large quantities of birds, fish, turtles, or other animals specifically for release, saying such demand could encourage the wildlife trade.
“Charitable needs should not become a reason for increased trapping, confinement, and trading of animals to supply the animal release,” Ven. Thich Thien Nhon said. (UCA News)
The directive also warned against releasing invasive or unsuitable species and called on practitioners to avoid leaving plastic bags, cages, containers, and other waste in rivers, lakes, and natural habitats.
Instead, Buddhists are encouraged to support animal rescue centers, protect forests and water sources, reduce plastic waste, safeguard wildlife habitats, practice vegetarianism, and reduce animal slaughter.
Concerns over commercialized animal release have grown in Vietnam. On 19 August, police at Vinh Hoang bird market in Hanoi reportedly seized 15 motorcycles carrying cages containing more than a thousand birds, including magpies, hwamei, and white-cheeked laughing thrushes.
“It is contradictory that people buy birds that have been confined in cages in order to release them,” Ho Chi Minh City resident Truong Le said, calling for the trade to be prohibited. (UCA News)
Another Buddhist, Hung Nguyen, said that advance orders for animals could unintentionally fuel the very practices that devotees hoped to counter.
“Some people pre-order large quantities of birds and aquatic animals for release. This stimulates trapping and contributes to the destructive wildlife trade,” he said. (UCA News)
Nguyen added that released animals were sometimes recaptured and resold. “I have bought many birds, and they survived only a week because they were exhausted and injured,” he said, describing a cycle of “catching, selling, buying, releasing, and catching again.” (UCA News)
The Vietnamese authorities recorded 1,274 wildlife-related violations during the first six months of 2026, according to UCA News, including 120 criminal cases involving 202 suspects and 978 administrative cases resulting in fines totaling more than 6.8 billion dong (US$258,000).
Vu Lan is among the most widely observed Buddhist festivals in Vietnam, combining Buddhist teachings on filial gratitude with long-standing Vietnamese traditions of honoring parents and ancestors. Buddhism has had a presence in Vietnam for nearly two millennia and remains deeply influential in the country’s religious and cultural life. Vietnam’s 2019 national census recorded some 4.6 million people formally identifying as Buddhists, although Buddhist practices and beliefs extend well beyond those who formally identify with a religion.
Environmental activist Aloisius Nguyen of Hue drew parallels between Buddhist concern for living beings and Christian environmental ethics associated with Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.
“Phóng sinh aims to protect all forms of life, which is consistent with protecting our common home,” Nguyen said. (UCA News)
See more
Vietnam Buddhists told to protect life, environment during festival (UCA News)
Vu Lan, an occasion to pay tribute to national contributors (VOV World)
Warm spirit of Vu Lan Festival embraced in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon News)
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