The birthplace of cat coffee-Japanese animal coffee shop is very popular, but 60,000 people call it stop.

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Animal coffee shops are springing up in Japan. In addition to cat and dog theme shops, people continue to introduce other animals such as mini pigs, and even wild animals such as foxes, ferrets and owls. Animal-themed coffee shops are very popular, and at the same time, some animal protection organizations say that Japan's animal welfare policy is particularly inadequate, and it has no retrospective effect to take legal action, worrying about the physical and mental health of the animals in the store.

In March this year, the "Mipig" coffee shop in the black area opened to attract mini-pigs imported from the UK. Customers can interact with mini-pigs for 30 minutes for 800 yen (about 57 Hong Kong dollars), and those who are not done can pay 500 yen (about 36 Hong Kong dollars) for an extra half an hour. In addition, the coffee shop has a minimum consumption, and customers need to buy a drink with a price of at least 600 yen (about HK $43).

A year ago, a farm in Yamanashi Prefecture launched a fund-raising and finally successfully raised 4.7 million yen (about HK $330000) to open Mipig. The person in charge expressed the hope that by opening a mini-pig coffee shop, the Japanese would better understand that pigs are not just animals to be slaughtered on the farm, and encourage people to keep pet pigs. Customers can take away the mini pig in the coffee shop for 300,000 yen (about HK $21000).

The trend of animal coffee shops began around 2004, when Osaka opened the first cat coffee shop to welcome cat lovers to tease cats. This trend has rapidly spread across the country, and there are more and more kinds of coffee shops. In addition to traditional cats and dogs, there are even ferrets, hedgehogs, owls, rabbits, goats and reptiles.

"the Japanese are absolutely obsessed with lovely things." Kevin Short, a professor of cultural anthropology at Tokyo Intelligence University (Tokyo University of Information Sciences), said that living in the high-pressure city of Japan, having fun with animals in coffee shops can be seen as a form of psychotherapy: "they allow people to interact with animals, express some feelings they can't express, and don't have to worry about taking care of pets after they are done."

Harry Hedgehog Caf é, a hedgehog-themed coffee shop in Yokohama, "employs" about 50 hedgehogs, as well as foxes, ferrets and lizards. The fox is curious by nature, always stands on tiptoe to observe the surrounding environment, and even has no taboo to climb near people. Hedgehogs are more docile and shy, not every one is willing to be held in their hands.

Animal coffee shops have become popular in Japan, and the number is growing day by day, which is not what everyone likes. Some animal rights groups believe that such activities may put pressure on animals and should be placed in their original habitat.

"We don't think the animal coffee shop is a good idea. Take owls as an example, their activities are constantly restricted by the space of the coffee shop. " Japan Animal Rights Center spokesman Chihiro Okada (Chihiro Okada) said.

The organization has launched an online petition urging the closure of all owl coffee shops, and nearly 60,000 signatures have been collected. Some netizens also expressed their opinions on the website, saying that "owls do not belong to coffee shops." There is no doubt that this is to satisfy the alternative cruelty to animals for human entertainment. "

Okada added that the animal coffee shop industry is not regulated in Japan. "when animal protection organizations or ordinary people report misconduct to the government, the authorities can go to the coffee shop and conduct an investigation. However, there is a lack of animal welfare standards, no matter how difficult the animals are in, the situation has not improved. " She said that she repeatedly asked the authorities to conduct an investigation, and the organization finally negotiated directly with the person in charge of the owl coffee shop, asking them to let the owl drink water at any time.

"Animal coffee shops are not habitual habitats for wild animals, and their lives will be shortened as a result. They are under great pressure from human presence, noise and continuously restricted activities. However, there is currently no legal recourse to make changes. " Okada said.

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