Sustainable Agriculture Network bans caged civets on their Indonesian farms
We're celebrating another major victory in our campaign for cage-free coffee.
The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) has banned coffee production from caged civets on its Indonesian farms.
SAN is responsible for the standards used by both Rainforest Alliance and partners all over the world.
Significant improvements have been made to the 'wildlife protection' section of the SAN standards, and caged civet coffee production has been banned altogether. These changes apply to all certified farms in Indonesia, which is the country that produces the most civet coffee.
We championed these changes through SAN's consultation process and we will push for the same changes to the overarching global SAN Standard when it is discussed in 2015.
This news follows the decision by UTZ Certified, the world's leading label for sustainable coffee production, that they will no longer certify producers using caged civets and other animals to produce coffee. This decision came after discussions between UTZ and ourselves.
Now that neither Rainforest Alliance nor UTZ farms can carry out caged civet coffee production, the cruel practice will become increasingly marginalized and coffee producers will have the incentive to conduct their business in a more humane and ethical way.
Our Wildlife Campaign Manager, Joanna Toole, said: "SAN's ban means people can now buy both Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified coffees in the confidence that these brands are not profiting from trapping, caging and mistreating wild animals. This latest move is a sign that the coffee industry is taking this problem seriously and taking steps to eliminate unacceptable animal cruelty. We'll now continue to work with other certification bodies, companies, and the Indonesian government to promote industry-wide commitment to only source and sell cage free civet coffee."
SAN Standards and Policy Director, Oliver Bach, said: "Following the recent changes made to SAN's Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa standard, which have strengthened wildlife protection on SAN certified farms, the capturing and captivity of civets for animal coffee production is now clearly prohibited. SAN certified farms serve as a refuge for wildlife and as such the issue of caged civet coffee production was recognised as a concerning animal welfare issue which needed to be specifically addressed. SAN hopes that this will help keep these animals in the wild where they belong."
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