Buddhist monastery in Scotland calls for firearms exclusion zone

Petition asks for protection from shooting ranges around Samye Ling and other places of peace

When the gunfire starts it is like a thunderclap, the monks and nuns explain, and the sound reverberates up the valley. During the game shooting season, it is not unusual for avian casualties to land within the grounds of Samye Ling, the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in western Europe. Tame ducks who have sought refuge from the hunters now waddle and strut between the golden statues, and peck at the monastics' brick red robes.

This secluded spiritual community now finds itself in a confounding position, standing with the local community of Eskdalemuir against the development of shooting ranges that threaten their pocket of peace".