Kopi luwak (civet coffee) is one of the worlds most expensive coffee’s, produced through the digestive tract of the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), a small carnivore native to South-east Asia. It is said that the enzymes of the civet’s digestive tract alter the coffee beans properties to create a smoother and richer tasting coffee. Popularized in the early 2000’s when it featured in the Hollywood film “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, this faecal-derived coffee has become known as the most expensive coffee in the world.

Unfortunately for civets, kopi luwak’s fame has led to the industrialization of production and civets are now caged and force-fed coffee. Civets suffer from capture and cage related injury, psychological distress, and caffeine toxicity. Although animal campaign groups have long highlighted the cruelty associated to contemporary kopi luwak production, a new form of cruelty has also started to emerge, this time in the iconic holiday destination of Bali.

Since kopi luwak’s Hollywood debut, kopi luwak agrotourism sites have cropped up across the main tourist trail in Bali from Denpasar International Airport in the South to Mount Batur in the North. Within kopi luwak agrotourism sites, tourists are invited to view the production of kopi luwak from bean to cup. A short tour of coffee plants, civets, and the roasting process ends with the optional purchase of kopi luwak surrounded by panoramic views of the luscious Balinese landscape. As part of the tour, wild-caught civets are housed in cages as “demonstration animals” so that tourists can see the process of coffee cherry consumption and kopi luwak defecation.

Similar to the kopi luwak production facilities, display civets across sites had limited access to shade, privacy, adequate nutrition, or water. Whilst few tourists mentioned civets in their review, opting instead to highlight the natural beauty of the landscape, those who did were most likely to rate their experience negatively on the basis of animal cruelty concerns. Overall, tourists were encouraged to keep a distance from the cages as the civets were aggressive, and tourists concerned with animal welfare noted civet injury and stereotypic pacing, a behaviour indicative of psychological stress.

Read the paper here:

Hooper, J. (2022). Cat-Poo-Chino and Captive Wildlife: Tourist Perceptions of Balinese Kopi Luwak Agrotourism, Society & Animals (published online ahead of print 2022). https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-bja10094