Cruel Civet Footage Axed From BBC After PETA Supporter Speaks Out

When a PETA supporter saw a segment featuring cruelly produced kopi luwak coffee on BBC2’s Saturday Kitchen Best Bites, he jumped into action.

As exposed in PETA Asia’s investigation, to make the inhumane coffee, civets are often captured from the wild and confined to small, barren, filthy cages. They’re deprived of everything that’s essential to their well-being, including exercise and a spacious, natural environment. Kopi luwak coffee is made from the beans of coffee berries that have been eaten and excreted by the shy nocturnal mammals, but the diet they are forced to eat is lacking in vitamins and nutrition, and many of them suffer as a result.

The programme on BBC2 featured celebrity chef Rick Stein feeding a coffee bean to a captive civet cat in Indonesia. As the PETA supporter pointed out, the footage promoted a practice which is harmful to civets.

And good news: The BBC Editorial Complaints Unit upheld his complaint!

The footage gave the impression that the use of captive civet cats in coffee production was uncontroversial, and that their natural diet consisted entirely of coffee beans (a diet which can in fact cause illness and death).

The BBC has agreed not to re-broadcast the segment.

This is a solid achievement for animals and an example of how anyone can speak out and make a difference. Whether it’s kopi luwak, foie gras or fur, if you see anyone promoting animal abuse, please speak out.

For resources that will help you become the best activist possible and give you the information, ideas, literature and practical tips that can help you make the world a better place for animals right now, please visit PETA’s action centre.