Society

60 percent of animal cafes in Japan deal with species restricted by int'l laws: study

TOKYO, Feb 27 (Japan Today) - Some 60 percent of animal cafes in Japan deal with exotic species restricted by international trade laws, raising fears that their popularity may not just threaten their conservation, but may also heighten the risk of animal-borne diseases, a recent study found.

There were 137 such stores as of 2019, with the popularity of the cafes and demand for the animals potentially triggering overhunting in their native habitats, according to the study by institutions including France's Sorbonne University and non-governmental organization Traffic, which is headquartered in Britain. The cafes allow customers to pet animals, such as owls or hedgehogs, or watch them up close.

The study found the cafes exhibited 419 different species and 3,793 individual animals, of which nine species and 53 animals were banned from being traded under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, due to their endangered status.

They included the grey parrot and slow loris, a type of primate. ...continue reading

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