2016年CRI Release of Wild Animals Creates Black Markets in China（在线收听）

Farmers in Beijing's Huarou District, a rural area outside the metropolitan center, have been reporting frequent sightings of foxes in the wild.

The Huairou area is not a natural habitat for foxes.

In some instances, the foxes have attacked farm animals, creating economic problems for locals.

Authorities suspect the foxes have been gaining a foothold in the Huairou area after being released by people taking part in religious ceremonies.

The local forestry police in Huairou have opened an investigation.

Releasing captured animals back into the wild has long been a century's-long tradition among certain religious groups in China.

The participants believe that by releasing the animals, they can generate spiritual merits.

Liu Yidan is one of those who used to take part in the ceremonies.

She now serves on a volunteer environmental patrol team in neighboring Hebei, hoping to stop people from setting the animals free.

"When we started out, me and my fellow participants thought we were saving these animals when they were let back into the wild. But as we bought more of these birds, more and more people began capturing them to sell to us. I finally began to realize that I couldn't possibly save all of them, even if I spent all my money."

The sale of animals on the black market can be lucrative for both poachers and illegal breeders in China.

Poachers of wild birds in Hebei can reportedly make over 10-thousand yuan, or around 15-hundred US dollars, a day from the sale of the birds.

Their profits usually surge around religious holidays.

Others who have released foxes into the wild say they usually purchase the animals from breeders, who would otherwise sell them for fur.

Yang Zhaoxia with Beijing Forestry University says people who buy these animals often don't know what kind of trouble they can get themselves into.

"Most people lack any legal awareness when it comes to wild animals. If the origins of the animals are unclear, its likely they come from illegal breeding operations. The people who buy these animals, even with the best of intentions, could be doing more harm than good for the environment, or even be unknowingly breaking the law. In some cases, these purchases could even land the buyers in jail."

Many animals either die or suffer cruel treatment while in the hands of dealers and breeders.

Farmers in Huarou say they've seen numerous dead foxes in their area, raising suspicions the animals were domesticated by breeders and had no skills to survive in the wild.

Zoologist Xie Yan with the Chinese Academy of Sciences says many biological and ecological issues need to be considered when relocating wild creatures.

"Releasing wild animals for ecological preservation is a highly scientific endeavor. We do not recommend anyone without proper training take part in such activities."

Priest Ming Jie with the Buddhist Association of China says capturing animals for the sake of releasing them actually veers quite far from Buddhist teachings.

"To catch animals so people can let them go again does not follow the spirit of releasing wild life that we teach. It even goes against our true spiritual teachings. If people can't properly choose the species to release, or the environment to release them, they are actually leading the animals to a dead end."

China's current wild animal protection law was launched in 1992.

It stipulates that regional, and even national authorities, need to grant approval before wild animals can be released.

Ecologists warn that the introduction of non-native species into a new environment has the potential to lead to major problems for years.

In the United States, Asian Carp, which are common in China, were introduced in the 1970's to clear out algae blooms at waste-water treatment centers.

After their inevitable escape into the wild, the so-called 'flying fish' are now making their way north up the major rivers and their tributaries, threatening other species and creating dangerous conditions for recreational boaters.

Asian carp, when startled, can jump as high as meter out of the water.

This has led to a growing number of injuries among people boating along rivers where the carp have taken over.

The fish is now listed as an invasive species in the United States.