A Tibetan woman helps raise 5,109,600 yuan to buy 6,387 goats from various slaughterhouses.(Photo from Internet)

The Weibo account of a professor at Northwest University for Nationalities broadcast a message on Sept. 4. According to the message, a Tibetan woman spent 5,109,600 yuan to buy 6,387 goats from various slaughterhouses. The goats were later freed in the grasslands of Sertar County, Sichuan province. The post has triggered heated online debate.

The Tibetan woman had recounted the deed on her own Weibo and WeChat accounts on Sept. 2, correcting a few misconceptions. First, she said that the release of the goats was organized by a group called “Snowland Release Group,” and that the funds were the result of donations from nearly 100 people.

Based on the woman's WeChat Friends Circle, a reporter from thepaper.cn concluded that the goats were freed on Aug. 30. They were purchased and transported from slaughterhouses in Xining and several other places. Despite the formal "release," the Tibetan woman reported that the goats are actually being kept temporarily by local farmers; they didn't just free the goats randomly in the grassland. 

Many netizens have praised the group's actions. However, others worried about the ecology of the grassland. 

Employees of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Sertar County told thepaper.cn that such a large-scale release has never happened there before. Since animal husbandry is a major industry in the county, there are already many herds of goats in the area. If more than 6,000 goats were released at once, many locals worried that the region would take a hit. Once winter arrives, the problem will only grow. 

Sun Quanhui, a consultant with World Society for the Protection of Animals, said that the aims and reasoning behind the release were good. However, simultaneously releasing so many animals without prior scientific research could have a negative outcome. 

Goats in the grassland of Sertar County, Sichuan province. (Photo from internet)