Life release is enormously popular in Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism and is now the tradition's most publicly criticised practice — from within. The act is straightforward merit: a caged animal is bought, chanted over, and freed. The problem is that a reliable market appeared to meet the demand, so birds are netted in order to be sold to people who will release them, often into habitats they cannot survive, and sometimes recaptured the same afternoon. Conservation biologists have documented invasive species spread this way. Several senior teachers now advise supporting animal sanctuaries instead, and the argument is a live one about whether the intention or the outcome is what the karma is made of.