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The unnecessary cruelty of Buddhist Fang Sheng.
On a recent trip to Cambodia I was saddened to see that the practice of releasing wild caught birds and other animals for merit is still flourishing. The tradition is variously called Fang Sheng, life release or merit releasing. Vendors on the waterfront in Phnom Penh near the Royal Palace and at the iconic temple…
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In the company of the Kulen Forest elephants.
I recently had the great pleasure to meet and spend the day with a group of fourteen Asian elephants at the Kulen Elephant Forest in Cambodia, a new retirement sanctuary for the Angkor Wat elephants who spent most of their lives giving tourist rides round the temples. Wild elephants are rapidly declining in Cambodia with…