A new investigation by animal welfare and conservation charity The Civet Project Foundation, supported by international animal welfare organisation Wild Welfare, has uncovered rampant fraud and serious animal welfare concerns linked to the online sale of civet coffee, often dubbed “cat-poo-chino”, on major eCommerce platforms including Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.
Civet coffee, or kopi luwak, is marketed as a luxury product made from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive tract of civets, small nocturnal mammals native to Southeast Asia.
Once hailed as world's rarest and most expensive coffee, with some cups priced as high as £50, civet coffee has become a symbol of exotic indulgence.
But The Civet Project’s investigation paints a much darker picture of civet coffee’s origins and the market behind it.
Following a surge in global demand, sparked by its appearance in the 2007 film The Bucket List, civet coffee has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Instead of collecting beans from wild civet droppings as often claimed, producers are now capturing wild civets, confining them in dirty, barren cages, and force-feeding them coffee cherries under harrowing conditions.
“These animals suffer immensely in captivity,” the charity reports. “Wild civets are caught using inhumane methods, suffer severe injuries, and are confined without proper care, biosecurity, or veterinary oversight.”
This not only violates animal welfare standards, but also poses a significant public health risk, as civets have been identified as potential vectors for diseases including SARS and COVID-19.
Beyond the animal cruelty concerns, the environmental impact is also severe. Civets play a vital ecological role as seed dispersers and pest controllers.
Their removal from the wild is contributing to biodiversity loss and environmental degradation across Southeast Asia.
Despite the UK public's growing demand for ethical sourcing and high animal welfare standards, the investigation, detailed in the newly published “Industry Leaders Report 2025: Tackling Civet Coffee Consumption (eCommerce)”, found:
Every civet coffee product that claimed certification from named organisations for being 'wild collected' or 'cage-free' was either fraudulent or untraceable.
Sellers falsely claimed certification from organisations such as WWF, Rainforest Alliance, and World Animal Protection, all of whom confirmed no affiliation with civet coffee
All claims of ethical sourcing or animal welfare standards were found to be fraudulent or untraceable
These misleading practices violate UK consumer protection laws, including the CMA Green Code and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
The consumer standards, animal welfare, environmental and sustainability issues associated with civet coffee products actively breach seven platform policies employed by eBay, Amazon and Etsy.
Despite having clear policies against misleading claims, all three platforms were found to be hosting sellers in breach of their own rules, highlighting a serious enforcement gap.
Dr Jes Hooper, CEO of The Civet Project Foundation, told That's Food and Drink: “UK consumers have shown time and again that animal welfare is an important consideration when deciding what products to buy and from whom.
"The weaponisation of animal welfare to purposely deceive consumers into purchasing products reliant on animal suffering is absolutely despicable.
The public deserves much better from coffee retailers and eCommerce platforms. We strongly urge people to boycott civet coffee.”
The scale of the issue is alarming. Between May and August 2025, over 182kg kilograms of civet coffee were available for sale on UK-facing eCommerce sites. Despite its supposed rarity, some products were listed for as little as £15.67 per packet.
In response to the multitude of policy violations involved in the sale of civet coffee, The Civet Project is calling on Amazon, eBay, and Etsy to immediately classify civet coffee as a prohibited item and to ban its sale on their platforms.
The charity is also urging consumers to boycott civet coffee this Christmas and beyond.
That's Food and Drink and sister sites That's Christmas 365, That's Green and That's Business support this campaign.
