Leading retailers pull civet coffee from shelves

We can also announce that we are talking with the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified - two of the world’s leading food certifiers, as part of our campaign to end cruel production methods associated with the coffee. 

A BBC investigation broadcast in September last year, revealed the increased trend for civet coffee to be produced from civets taken from the wild and kept captive in appalling caged conditions. 

Following that investigation, we launched a campaign calling for  an end to caged civet coffee production - highlighting the need for transparency through independent certification and contacting a series of retailers around the world who were selling the product. 

The British company Harrods immediately demonstrated their commitment to only source ‘cage free’ civet coffee. Several other major companies such as Selfridges (UK), Simon Lévelt (Netherlands), Teknikmagasinet (Sweden) and Winther’s Kaffe (Denmark) have gone even further by completely removing the product from their shelves until a cruelty-free product can be guaranteed.

Positive steps are also being taken by coffee certification bodies to address this issue. We are in talks with UTZ Certified and the Rainforest Alliance to explore how best to prevent certified coffee producers from involvement in caged civet coffee production. 

Dr Neil D’Cruze, Head of Wildlife Research and Policy at World Animal Protection said: “Retailers all over the world have committed to obtain civet coffee only from guaranteed ‘cage-free’ sources and it is clear that this is the animal friendly product that consumers want. We are encouraged by the dialogue we have with these internationally leading certification bodies which we hope will result in retailers and consumers being able to make an informed and humane choice, preventing the cruel capture and confinement of hundreds of civets.”

Here's the full list of retailers committed to stop selling civet coffee or only to source from cage free sources:

Canada: Doi Chaang Coffee Company, The Bean Stop

Denmark: Coolshop, Coolsuff, Mikkeller, Randers Regnskov, Risteriet, Winthers Kaffe

Netherlands: Brandmeester’s, Simon Lévelt, Van Hilst

Sweden: Coolstuff, J & N, Teknikmagasinet, Roliga Prylar

UK: Harrods, Selfridges, Firebox

Find out more about our civet coffee campaign.

“Retailers all over the world have committed to obtain civet coffee only from guaranteed ‘cage-free’ sources and it is clear that this is the animal friendly product that consumers want.