Kopi Luwak, the most expensive and cruellest coffee, is now available in South Africa
The NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit is shocked and disappointed that Kopi Luwak coffee is being imported into South Africa and is being sold by some coffee shops and online retailers.
Kopi Luwak is made from the solid excrement (faeces) of Asian Palm civets.
There are some serious animal welfare concerns regarding the production of this coffee. Historically, the partially digested coffee beans were sourced from the faeces of wild, free-roaming Asian Palm civets. But due to increased demand and the time and effort needed to source these faeces from free-roaming animal populations, civets are now caught from the wild and placed into intensive farming situations.
These farms are based in Asia. Vietnam has some of the main farms, 2 of which are said to house more than 300 animals each. These civets are kept in small, barren cages. They are fed a mixture of coffee beans and fruit and their faeces are collected. The general standard of care provided for all types of animals in captivity in Asia is generally appalling. In addition, numbers of Asian Palm civets in the wild are threatened due to habitat destruction, and over-hunting for meat.
Parallels have been drawn between pâté de foie gras and Kopi Luwak. Both are promoted as luxury items yet the production of both involves cruelty to animals.
Nowadays there are artificial ways to create Kopi Luwak without involving living creatures at all.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently launched an in-depth investigation in to the production of Kopi Luwak in Asia. Their findings are horrific. Civets are kept in unacceptable and cruel conditions and the claims that Kopi Luwak is wild-sourced are refuted.
We quote from www.peta.org - "While kopi luwak is often advertised as "wild–sourced," farmers told the investigator that it would be nearly impossible to produce exclusively wild–sourced civet coffee and that the industry knowingly mislabels coffee from captive animals.
At two farms, the investigator was told that they "didn't have a problem" with putting a "100% wild–sourced" or similar label on coffee from caged civets. One farmer even gave the investigator a sample of coffee bearing a false label.”
Kopi Luwak, according to Ainsley Hay, Manager of the NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit, this coffee is “Nothing more than a cruel novelty. We find it unbelievable that people would pay top dollar to drink an animal’s waste and contribute to such appalling animal cruelty.”
The NSPCA urges coffee connoisseurs to refuse to support this cruelty by not purchasing or drinking Kopi Luwak. Details of suppliers or coffee shops offering Kopi Luwak can be forwarded to the NSPCA at wild4@nspca.co.za
The cruellest cup of coffee you will ever drink
Kopi Luwak, the most expensive and cruellest coffee, is now available in South Africa
The NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit is shocked and disappointed that Kopi Luwak coffee is being imported into South Africa and is being sold by some coffee shops and online retailers.
Kopi Luwak is made from the solid excrement (faeces) of Asian Palm civets.
There are some serious animal welfare concerns regarding the production of this coffee. Historically, the partially digested coffee beans were sourced from the faeces of wild, free-roaming Asian Palm civets. But due to increased demand and the time and effort needed to source these faeces from free-roaming animal populations, civets are now caught from the wild and placed into intensive farming situations.
These farms are based in Asia. Vietnam has some of the main farms, 2 of which are said to house more than 300 animals each. These civets are kept in small, barren cages. They are fed a mixture of coffee beans and fruit and their faeces are collected. The general standard of care provided for all types of animals in captivity in Asia is generally appalling. In addition, numbers of Asian Palm civets in the wild are threatened due to habitat destruction, and over-hunting for meat.
Parallels have been drawn between pâté de foie gras and Kopi Luwak. Both are promoted as luxury items yet the production of both involves cruelty to animals.
Nowadays there are artificial ways to create Kopi Luwak without involving living creatures at all.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently launched an in-depth investigation in to the production of Kopi Luwak in Asia. Their findings are horrific. Civets are kept in unacceptable and cruel conditions and the claims that Kopi Luwak is wild-sourced are refuted.
We quote from www.peta.org - "While kopi luwak is often advertised as "wild–sourced," farmers told the investigator that it would be nearly impossible to produce exclusively wild–sourced civet coffee and that the industry knowingly mislabels coffee from captive animals.
At two farms, the investigator was told that they "didn't have a problem" with putting a "100% wild–sourced" or similar label on coffee from caged civets. One farmer even gave the investigator a sample of coffee bearing a false label.”
Kopi Luwak, according to Ainsley Hay, Manager of the NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit, this coffee is “Nothing more than a cruel novelty. We find it unbelievable that people would pay top dollar to drink an animal’s waste and contribute to such appalling animal cruelty.”
The NSPCA urges coffee connoisseurs to refuse to support this cruelty by not purchasing or drinking Kopi Luwak. Details of suppliers or coffee shops offering Kopi Luwak can be forwarded to the NSPCA at wild4@nspca.co.za
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