Filename:
WAM39842
Headline:
Coffee cherries, the fruit that surrounds a coffee bean, sit in a basket at a civet coffee garden. The cherries are fed to caged wild civets, who excrete the coffee beans in their feces. The excreted beans are collected, processed and sold to produce kopi luwak, reputedly the world's most expensive coffee beans. Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, 2024. Deniz Tapkan Cengiz / We Animals
Description:
Civets, shy, forest-dwelling feliform (cat-like) mammals, are frequently captured from the wild and caged in Indonesian islands and the Philippines to produce kopi luwak, reputedly the world's most expensive coffee. These animals eat coffee cherries, passing the partially digested beans through their feces, which producers then collect, process, and sell as kopi luwak coffee.
While traditionally collected from wild civets in forests and plantations, increasing international demand has led to intensive farming methods where civets are confined in battery cages and force-fed coffee cherries. Tourist coffee gardens in Indonesia display caged civets alongside various coffee plants, where kopi luwak commands the highest price for tasting and purchase. While officials claim these animals are rotated weekly, with new wild civets replacing those allegedly released, a 2023 study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found no evidence supporting such rotation claims at 15 Indonesian sites. Instead, researchers observed civets in cramped conditions displaying stress behaviours, suggesting their welfare is compromised for coffee production and tourism.
Area of Focus:
Entertainment and Work,Food Systems
Supplemental categories:
Animal Tourism, Food Systems
City:
Ubud
Province/State:
Bali
Country:
Indonesia
Photographer/Filmmaker:
Deniz Tapkan Cengiz
Credit:
Deniz Tapkan Cengiz / We Animals
Year:
2024
License Type(s):
Commercial Use, Non-Commercial Use
Release status:
No release
WA Keywords:
Size:
3000px X 2001px
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