Hedgehogs, owls, flamingos, capybaras, penguins: in Japan it seems that every animal has its own cafe. Customers can come and consume while observing their favorite species, either behind a plexiglass wall, or by having the opportunity to touch and cuddle the animals in question. This allows you to make videos that are too cute, to take improbable selfies, and to have a memorable time.
Suffice to say that France, with its few cafes allowing to meet cats, lags behind. Except that it is in fact to be rejoiced, explains the New York Times, because these businesses are taking animal welfare by the wayside – when they are not outright threatening the survival of certain species. The site resumes the results of a study conducted by the journal Conservation Science and Practice, which are horribly edifying.
According to the count of researchers who have worked on the subject, these Japanese establishments would exhibit a total of 3,793 animals belonging to 419 species, of which 51 are threatened with extinction. This includes nine alien species, including pygmy slow loris et Madagascar star tortoiseso fragile that they are strictly excluded from any form of international trade.
These animals “have usually been caught in the wild”explains Marie Sigaud, veterinarian and biologist at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (MNHN)who adds that “this has consequences for their long-term survival”. In addition, specifies the specialist, it is also necessary to worry about the fact that some of these animals are susceptible transmit viruses to humans.
Available for purchase
Scientists call on the Japanese government to be responsible, with the laws currently in force unanimously considered to be “too weak”, recalls Marie Sigaud. For the moment, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, which has not responded to requests from the New York Times, seems to be turning a deaf ear.
Japan is not the only country to have opened many animal bars. A study from 2020 shows that since 1998 and the opening of the first address of this kind in Taiwan, these businesses have flourished in Asia: China, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia are also concerned, even if I Japan remains “the epicenter of the phenomenon”underlines the expert.
Surprisingly enough, the most prevalent animals in these places are birds, with 62% of species, 40% of which are owls – perhaps the effect Harry Potter. But alongside mammals, whose success is hardly surprising, it should be noted that reptiles are also popular. Among all these animals, some must have arrived there illegally, warns Marie Sigaud, since the trade in animals is strictly regulated by law, and it does not allow anyone to make any acquisition. .
Some of these animals can even be purchased by members of the clientele if they have the means: marsupials, royal pythons or cockatoos are indeed available, for prices varying from 140 to 21,600 euros. In short, the business is lucrative, and the condition of the animals concerned is of little importance to the majority of owners of this kind of place, too busy filling their cash drawer thanks to the obsession of tourists (and certain locals) for everything which is kawaii.
