First I want to say; "I love coffee". When I first heard about "weasel" coffee, I thought it sounded a bit disgusting, but was open to try it. However, before I did, I found out some things about it which did not sit well with me. Were the horrible things I was hearing actually true? Perhaps they were made up by people who grew coffee but had no civet cats to poop out the beans. After a bit more research into the industry what I found will shock even those opposed to civet coffee.

First of all these unscrupulous and cruel coffee growers do not use weasels to make their "weasel" coffee. They use other animals, such as civet cats and binturongs. If you do not know what these animals are, don't be embarrassed, I did not know a few years ago either. A civet cat is somewhat like a raccoon, being that it is an omnivore. Binturongs are also called bear- cats and are endangered. Many species of civets are endangered.

Secondly, the manner in which the animals are kept is in itself a horror. In the wild, they would be free to choose what they ate and it would be a much more varied diet, not just coffee beans. When they do eat coffee beans in the wild, they never eat green or bad beans, they only eat the best. They are kept in very small cages and lie in their own urine and feces. The farmers hose them down to wash them sometimes.

Thirdly and most horrifically is what happens to them when they become too diseased and weak to eat those green coffee beans? Quite simply, they are sold to wildlife restaurants where they are beaten to death to increase the adrenaline in their meat to give them a "better" taste. I have seen this firsthand and have photographic evidence of it. The photos that I have are mine alone.

Coffee companies, shops and drinkers need to be made aware if this and make the ethical decision to put an end to captive civets, weasels and binturongs. Set them free in the forest and let them eat what they choose and let the farmers gather their crap. Besides, from everything I have learned, that will make better coffee for those who enjoy drinking fecal matter.