Imagine sipping a latte while stroking an owl or watching an otter play at your feet. This is the promise of exotic animal cafes, a trend that blends coffee culture with wildlife encounters. But behind the Instagram-worthy photos lies a troubling reality – the welfare of the animals themselves.

Since the mid-2000s, animal cafes have increased in popularity with customers paying low-cost entrance fees, ranging from £8 to around £15, depending on the location and animals housed there. The concept seemed to have started with cat cafes but now include owls, meerkats, capybara, snakes and even penguins.

Taiwan, China and Japan seem to be leading the trend. But they are starting to pop up in the UK too, with plans for a capybara cafe in Norfolk announced in 2025. And there are already capybara cafes in Florida, US, that offer a “curated, slow-living experience that lets you connect with animals in a meaningful and memorable way”.

The appeal is obvious: exotic animals are fascinating. However animal rights activists have concerns about the cost to the animals. My colleagues and I recently published research on animal cafes in Japan which reveals they are failing animals on almost every welfare measure.

We visited 79 exotic animal cafes across Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and other regions, observing 231 mammal, bird and reptile species. We scored conditions in five areas: environment, nutrition, behaviour, restraint and visitor interactions.

Our findings showed welfare standards were consistently poor across all species.

Birds suffered most. Owls, by far the most common species, were often tethered to perches, unable to fly. Owls are nocturnal species and therefore their natural behaviour is to hide away during daylight hours. Many were exposed to loud music and constant human contact, conditions known to cause stress to birds.

Otters didn’t have water for swimming during opening hours. Meerkats, highly social animals, were kept alone in tiny cages. Even domestic species such as rabbits scored poorly for the number of human-animal interactions and the environment that was provided for them.

Reptiles fared slightly better, probably because their spatial needs are smaller. But many were housed in enclosures with no place for them to escape the public gaze or people tapping on their glass enclosures and had minimal enrichment.

Rabbits however did score higher on the nutrition scores. We linked this to the fact that they are domesticated, which means appropriate food is easy to purchase.

Meerkats lying on concrete floor next to wooden tables.
Do meerkats really belong in cafes? CoreRock/Shutterstock

Poor welfare isn’t just an ethical issue, it’s a public health concern. Close contact with stressed wild animals increases the risk of bites, scratches and disease transmission, from salmonella to cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic infection that causes profuse watery diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea or vomiting and low-grade fever for up to two weeks.

In cramped cafes, these risks multiply. A recent study and report compiled by WWF Japan found dangerous bacteria such as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, salmonella, and drug-resistant bacteria in some facilities.

Another issue is where these animals are coming from. Many of the species housed in exotic cafes are of conservation importance. It might be that they are being bought and sold in violation of international animal trade laws that prohibit the movement or sale of certain animals from their original native homeland.

The bigger picture

As mentioned above, Japan isn’t an outlier, with similar opportunities in China and Taiwan. The UK has more than 40 cat cafes plus the proposed capybara cafe in Norfolk. The number of cat cafes in the UK is increasing, with a 44% surge in licences granted over the past financial year.

A report from the RSPCA and Cats Protection, two of the largest animal welfare charities in the UK, is calling for a phase-out of cat cafes. They believe that cats, “having descended from solitary, territorial, roaming wildcats” are “likely to find the enforced proximity to other felines as well as unfamiliar visitors wishing to stroke them extremely stressful.”

It’s unclear whether these types of cafe can ever meet the complex physical and psychological needs of any species that they house any species that they house, whether they are wild or domesticated animals. Our research suggests the answer is no. These environments cannot provide space, stimulation or choice – the foundations of good animal welfare.

Woman sitting on artificial grass playing with cats.
Cat cafes are becoming increasingly popular. Boyloso/Shutterstock

Animal welfare legislation around the world is complex. In a lot of countries, exotic cafes would fall under the same license as zoos. This is the case in Japan. Japan’s animal welfare law offers little specific protection for exotic species. It acknowledges animal sentience but provides little consideration to the care of captive wild animals.

In England, Scotland and Wales there are two forms of legislation that might be relevant to animal cafes. For a domestic cat cafe, The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 applies.

This includes the need for the cafe staff and owners to provide a suitable environment and diet and protect the animals from pain, suffering, injury and disease. It would also require cat cafes to monitor the animals’ behaviour, handling of the cats and interactions with customers. Inspections of these facilities do occur but are dependant on the local authorities who may or may not have animal welfare knowledge.

If cafes are to house non-domestic species, such as capybara, they would also need to have a dispensation zoo license under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. This will mean that in the case of the proposed capybara cafe, they will need to be inspected in a similar way to a standard GB zoo but without having to contribute to conservation or education.

No matter where you are in the world or which animals they showcase, society must ask whether such cafes align with modern ethical values.

The simplest and most effective action you can take to oppose them is not to support these businesses. Every visit fuels demand for keeping wild animals in unsuitable environments.

When away from the UK, visit accredited zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, or conservation centres where animal welfare, conservation and education are prioritised. If you encounter cafés with poor conditions you should report them to local authorities or animal welfare charities such as Wild Welfare.

As these cafes gain popularity on social media, the conversation must shift from cuteness to responsibility.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Samantha Ward, Nottingham Trent University

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Samantha Ward is the Research Advisor for Wild Welfare, an international animal welfare charity.