While releasing a single, expensive turtle back into the wild might be seen as a good deed and a heartwarming story, what about hundreds of snakes?

Over the weekend, someone released around 300 snakes on a hill about 1 km away from a village in Hebei province, much to the distress of local villagers.

In order to prevent anyone from being hurt, the county forestry department deployed officers and experts to re-capture the animals.

To “release life” (放生) is one way that Buddhists can earn merit. Snakes are a popular choice of believers. Earlier this year, a man in Guangdong province released 40 kg of snakes back into the wild, only to be put under investigation for animal trafficking.

Back in 2016, a religious woman in Sichuan released some 900 snakes into a forest, forcing nearby villagers to go out and beat the animals to death.