Buddhists bid to halt killing near Loch Ness
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BUDDHISTS developing a retreat in the hills above Loch Ness are trying to buy part of a neighbouring estate to stop the “carnage” of wildlife being shot near the centre.
They are hoping to buy 500 acres of Balmacaan Estate beside their Centre for World Peace near Drumnadrochit and turn it into a wildlife haven.
Offers around £160,000 are being sought by the landowner, Canadian renewable energy company Boralex.
The centre is affiliated to the Samye Ling Monastery run by Tibetan Buddhists in Dumfries.
Samye Ling representative Helen MacRae said: “The prospect of guns being fired across the land and creatures being killed in the name of sport just does not bear thinking about.
“We understand the present owners have a strong ethos based on protecting biodiversity and conserving local habitats wherever their company operates so we hope Boralex’s management will see this is a lovely legacy they can offer to Scotland.”
Under their code of beliefs, Buddhists cannot intentionally harm animals.
When the Loch Ness centre is complete, pride of place will be a peace pole made of Lochaber oak that was blessed by the Dalai Lama the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. It carries inscriptions in Gaelic and Tibetan.
