Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T13:44:15.424Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The animal welfare implications of civet coffee tourism in Bali

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

G Carder
Affiliation:
World Animal Protection, 5th Floor, 222 Gray's Inn Rd, London WCIX 8HB, UK
H Proctor
Affiliation:
World Animal Protection, 5th Floor, 222 Gray's Inn Rd, London WCIX 8HB, UK
J Schmidt-Burbach
Affiliation:
World Animal Protection, 5th Floor, 222 Gray's Inn Rd, London WCIX 8HB, UK
N D’Cruze*
Affiliation:
The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney OXI3 5Q, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

There is a growing demand for civet coffee (also known as ‘Kopi Luwak’ in Indonesia), a luxury coffee produced from coffee cherries that have been eaten and partially digested by civets. Traditionally made using scat collected from the wild, the trend for ‘caged’ civet coffee, where live civets are taken from the wild and housed in captive conditions, is increasing. There is a rapidly expanding civet coffee tourist industry that has emerged within the last five years in Indonesia. The present paper is based on observations of the housing conditions of 48 wild-caught common palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) at 16 of these tourist-orientated coffee plantations in Bali. A score between 0-4 indicating welfare concerns was given for eight husbandry factors at each plantation, including: mobility, hygiene, surfaces, shelter, noise, food, water, and social interactions. In addition, interviews were conducted with senior tour guides at each of the plantations to gather information regarding tourist activities and the civet coffee production taking place therein. The data allowed for a welfare assessment to be made, which highlights the inadequate conditions and negative impact on common palm civets associated with the caged commercial production of this luxury product, which are not associated with traditional collection of scat from wild-living civets. We hope that our findings will inform tourists and tour operators about the ethical implications of visiting these attractions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2016 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Baker, S, Cain, R, Kesteren, F, Zommers, Z, D’Cruze, N and Macdonald, D 2013 Rough trade: Animal welfare in the global wildlife trade. BioScience 63: 928938. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/bio.2013.63.12.6Google Scholar
Botreau, R, Veissier, I, Butterworth, A, Bracke, MBM and Keeling, LJ 2007 Definition of criteria for overall assessment of animal welfare. Animal Welfare 16: 225228Google Scholar
Broom, DM 1991 Animal Welfare, concepts and measures. Journal of Animal Science 69: 41674175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broom, DM and Johnson, K 1993 Stress and Animal Welfare. Chapman & Hall: London, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlstead, K 1996 Effects of captivity on the behavior of wild mammals. In: Kleiman, DG, Allen, ME, Thompson, KV and Lumpkin, S (eds) Wild Mammals in Captivity, Principles and Techniques. University Chicago Press: Chicago, USAGoogle Scholar
D’Cruze, N, Toole, J, Mansell, K and Schmidt-Burbach, J 2014 What is the true cost of the world's most expensive coffee? Oryx 48(02): 170171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605313001531CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorset, J and Dandelot, P 1970 Viverridae: A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa. Collines: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Krishnakumar, H, Balasubramanian, NK and Balakrishnan, M 2002 Sequential pattern of behavior in the common palm civet, Paradoxurus hermaphroditus (Pallas). International Journal of Comparative Psychology 15(4): 303311CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, E, Boyles, LA, O’Doherty, JV, Brophy, P and Lynch, PB 2005 The effect of floor type in farrowing crates on piglet welfare. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 44: 6981Google Scholar
Macdonald, DW 2009 The Encyclopaedia of Mammal s. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UKGoogle Scholar
Mason, G 2006 Stereotypic Animal Behaviour: Fundamentals and Applications to Welfare. CAB International: Wallingford, UK. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/9780851990040.0000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mason, JH 1984 Civets, Evolution of Domestic animals. Longman: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Meziane, Z 2007 Future innovations in food and drinks to 2012. Business Insight Ltd: UKGoogle Scholar
Moorhouse, TP, Dahlsjo, CAL, Baker, SE, D’Cruze, N and Macdonald, DW 2015 The customer isn't always right - conser-vation and animal welfare implications of the increasing demand for wildlife tourism. Plos One 10(10): e0138939. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138939CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morimura, N 2007 Note on effects of a daylong feeding enrich-ment program for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 106(1): 78183. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.06.015CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouttotou, N, Hatchell, FM and Green, LE 1998 Adventitious bursitis of the hock in finishing pigs: prevalence, distribution and association with floor type and foot lesions. The Veterinary Record 142: 109114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.142.5.109CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schipper, LL, Vinke, CM, Schilder, MBH and Spruijt, BM 2008 The effect of feeding enrichment toys on the behaviour of kennelled dogs (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 114: 182195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.01.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt-Burbach, J, Ronfot, D and Srisangiam, R 2015 Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestri-na) and tiger (Panthera tigris) populations at tourism venues in Thailand and aspects of their welfare. Plos One 10(9): e0139092. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139092CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shepherd, CR 2012 Observations of small carnivores in Jakarta wildlife markets, Indonesia, with notes on trade in Javan ferret badger (Melogale orientalis) and on the increasing demand for com-mon palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) for civet coffee pro-duction. Small Carnivore Conservation 47: 3841Google Scholar
Swaisgood, RR and Shepherdson, DJ 2005 Scientific approach-es to enrichment and stereotypies in zoo animals: What's been done and where should we go next? Zoo Biology 24: 499518. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/zoo.20066CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szokalski, MS, Litchfield, CA and Foster, WK 2012 Enrichment for captive tigers (Panthera tigris): Current knowledge and future directions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 139: 19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2012.02.021CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tolosa, T and Regassa, F 2007 The husbandry, welfare and health of captive African civets (Vivera civetica) in western Ethiopa. Animal Welfare 16: 1519Google Scholar
Vega, FE 2008 The rise of coffee. American Scientist 96(2): 138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1511/2008.70.3640CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Würbel, H, Chapman, R and Rutland, C 1998 Effect of feed and environmental enrichment on development of stereotypic wire-gnawing in laboratory mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 6: 6981. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(98)00150-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar