Civet Cats Suffer for Kopi Luwak Coffee—Urge Businesses to Act Now!

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After hearing from PETA that Asian palm civet cats suffer when they’re taken from their homes in nature, shoved into cramped cages, and forced to eat unnatural amounts of coffee berries so that their excrement can be sold as kopi luwak coffee, many businesses have made the compassionate decision to pull it from their shelves. Others have chosen to continue profiting from animals’ misery for a novelty product that no one needs.

PETA Asia investigators visited civet cat coffee farms and found disturbing cruelty at every one. Nocturnal civet cats, who naturally fear humans, were confined to small wire cages in the sun with no dark place to sleep and were subjected to a constant barrage of unwanted human contact. Their cages were encrusted with feces, rotting berries, and other filth, and they panted incessantly in the heat. Numerous civet cats exhibited signs of extreme psychological distress, including pacing and biting themselves. Investigators saw several with open, bloody wounds, but the cats didn’t appear to receive any veterinary care. At least one was seemingly blind.

The civet cats were fed an unnatural and unhealthy diet consisting of an excessive amount of coffee berries in order to maximize farms’ profits. Many of them were losing their fur because of malnourishment.

photo of civet cat with injuries in small cage

Kopi luwak sellers commonly claim that their coffee is “wild-sourced,” but farmers told PETA Asia’s investigators that it would be nearly impossible to collect enough wild civet cat excrement to produce the coffee. One producer admitted that they may collect a small amount of beans excreted by free-roaming civet cats, mix it with the beans from their cages, and misleadingly call the coffee “wild-sourced.” Another told an investigator that he could just label the coffee produced by caged civet cats as “wild.”

Take Action
Civet cats are nocturnal mammals who prefer to stay in dark, secluded tree canopies during the day—and just like all other animals, they feel love, fear, and joy. They just want to be left in peace to roam free.

PETA has sent retailers evidence that “wild” civet coffee is essentially a lie, but some have ignored our requests to stop selling it. Please send polite emails to:

Then, fill out the form below to urge these businesses to stop funding cruelty to civet cats by ending their sale of kopi luwak today.

Ms.
Stephanie
Hanamaikai
Lavanta Coffee Roasters
Mr.
Joseph
Apuzzo Jr.
Armenia Coffee Corporation
Ms.
Ms.
Pang
Entsuki Coffee

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