Ex-owl cafe worker speaks out

We have received information from a whistle-blower who previously worked at an owl cafe.  The conditions which owls live under in this kind of establishment are unimaginably inhumane, being forced to just stay still and endure their circumstances.

We have to think about what we can do, individually and collectively, about this situation.

Kept leashed in the same place, even during their rest time and after the shop is closed

I worked at an owl cafe from 2015 through 2016. This is a place where you can watch and pet live owls while enjoying a drink. The shop keeps around 30 owls to exhibit, as well as to sell. These owls are leashed, so they spend every day unable to move except within a limited space. They are also kept leashed in the same place even when they are given a rest or when the shop is closed. Supposedly this is in the owls’ best interest as it is better to avoid changes in their environment.

Although it varies depending on the size of the owl, the space available for a small owl is around 30 square centimeters, while the space for larger ones is around 100 square centimeters. Even when the owls don’t want to be touched by humans, they have to stay put.  All they can do is close their eyes or turn their backs to the customers. Despite claims that the owls are regularly given time to rest (as stated on the shop’s homepage), the reality is that all the owls, except for the sick ones, are not given a rest.  Instead, they are made available to customers, without a break, during business hours (totaling 10 hours).

Even when the shop gives rest time to sick owls, they don’t take them out to the shop’s backyard. The birds have to remain in the same place. Customers are not able to pet these owls but are still able to take photos. So, owls at “rest time” are still exposed to the eyes of people.

Deprived of drinking water to reduce waste

When I worked there, the shop rarely gave water to the owls during business hours. Even during hot summer days, the number of times I saw them giving water can be counted on one hand. They didn’t provide a drinker either, so the owls were not able to voluntarily drink water. The reason why they didn’t let the owls drink water was because it would increase the amount of waste. The shop was also short of manpower so they simply didn’t have time to give the owls water.

Owls suffer in hot weather.  When they are thirsty, They move the part under their beak back and forth. The staff didn’t even give them water when they did that.

Owls dying one after another

During the year I worked there, seven owls died. “The owl is being fostered by a family” – this phrase, put on the shop’s website, often meant the owl had died.

The owls showed some symptoms before they died, although they were not too evident.  These included perching with both feet instead of just one, keeping their eyes closed longer than usual (appearing asleep), or breathing hard. These were the three main changes I noticed.

At the beginning, the owner of the shop just sat back and let them die without veterinary treatment. During business hours they prioritized business, saying they could not take the sick owls to a veterinarian because they needed to manage the shop.  Their selfishness was also evident when evaluating the condition of the owls.  Having no veterinary background they would say, “It looks too late. There’s nothing we can do now”. This shows they did not have any intention of giving sick owls veterinary treatment, or didn’t hope for their recovery either. After so many owls died, they finally took a sick bird to a veterinarian. However, it seemed that they were only doing this because the bird was, in fact, dying.

The owner buried the dead owls in the clear space at the back of the shop, and didn’t try to find out what the cause of death was of these birds. It seemed that the owner stuffed the ones they favored. When owls died, the owner simply supplemented the stock by buying new ones. The owner repeated this cycle.

An owl cafe, in general, profits more if it owns rare owls that you cannot normally see in person. It seemed that the shop I worked at even carried a kind that had been overhunted abroad. I heard the shop owner boasting to customers, saying something like “these owls are so rare that they are not available as pets in Japan” or “we get the eggs from the nest.” It seemed to me the owner purchased owls merely for his desire for possessions. When I was working there, there were at least three owls that were mentioned as being of an overhunted kind.

I should also mention that it appeared that the shop was operating under poor hygiene conditions and deceiving the Department of Public Health. The cafe space and the space for the owls were supposed to be separated by a partition, but the shop didn’t have one.  This would allow customers to have a clear view of the owls while enjoying their drinks. The sink where food for the owls, such as quails and mice, was washed was also the same sink where drinks served to the customers were handled.

Endurance of the owls until the last moment

Owls have a beautiful appearance, and the way they look into your eyes is so unique and fascinating. When I worked at the shop I never got tired of observing them, finding something new every day.

However, their natural habitat is a quiet environment in the woods whereas, in a cafe, they are surrounded by artificial lighting and music.  This must cause them stress. Being touched by human strangers itself must also cause them tremendous stress.

Owls in these cafes are more used to humans compared to wild ones because they have been raised around humans. However, that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to keep them in an environment completely for humans, or to pet them as much as we want. We should not ignore the fact that they are forced to pay a massive cost for “healing” humans.

Animals by nature do not show their symptoms, even when they are sick. The owls that died when I worked there were no exception. There were some who suddenly fell from their perch.  In other words, they just dropped dead. When they fell, their bodies were already stiff and getting cold. It was clear that they endured their circumstances until the last minute. I think they were trying to live until the last moment while hiding the signs that they were dying.

However, if we watch carefully, we should be able to notice some signs of illness. There are many owls at an owl cafe so you should be able to see the difference between the sick ones and the others more easily than observing a lone companion animal at home.

The customers at the shop were mostly animal lovers, and they said things like “these owls are so cute”, “they have healed me very much” and so on. There were also many who said “I pity these owls kept leashed in such a small space”, “Aren’t these bright lights harming the owls?” and so forth. I bet the customers think that the shop must have extensive knowledge about owls and handles the birds with meticulous care since it operates an owl specialty cafe. The reality is very different.

I believe that cafes that keep raptors captive, including owls, and cause too much stress for the birds by letting customers touch them, should go out of business sooner or later.

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This former employee told us the reason they decided to speak out was because they couldn’t stand thinking about this situation anymore.

The owls that died must not have been able to find answers as to why they were kept leashed, forced to remain in one place, as to why they couldn’t fly, and why they were suffering so much until the last moment.

By instinct, animals do not show signs that they are sick because when they appear to be sick in a natural environment, there is more chance that their enemies take aim at them. When animals are sick, they hide in a secluded place to recuperate. However, owls at owl cafes are kept leashed. They have no place to hide, being constantly exposed to the eyes of people. It is unimaginably painful to think about the torment that these birds suffer, holding up until the last moment, while trying to hide that they are dying.

What we can do

• – Don’t visit owl cafes
• – Clearly express that you are against these cafes
• – Send your opinion to these cafes
• – Let those around you know about the reality
• – Take part in a signature-collecting campaign

…and more!

You can be a voice of these voiceless birds!

Updates about the owl cafe in question (hereinafter referred to as Owl Cafe A)

Intervention by the Department of Public Health

Upon being informed of Owl Cafe A, Animal Rights Center contacted the Animal Protection Department (Department of Public Health) that has jurisdiction in this area, on December 26, 2016. We requested the department check and instruct mainly on the following:

1. Owl Cafe A denies treatment of sick animals and lets them die

2. Owl Cafe A posts false statements about the dead birds by stating “the bird is being fostered by a family” when five out of six of those birds actually died

The Department of Public Health inspected Owl Cafe A in early January 2017.

Owl Cafe A denied the allegations in points 1 and 2 above.

The Department of Public Health pointed out that Owl Cafe A was not keeping a record book* that records sales, the state of animals and so forth, and was instructed to keep such a record book.

*The particulars for the ways of managing animals that the type-1 animal handling business operators must observe include obligation to keep records of purchasing and sales, implementation status of cleaning, sterilization, maintenance and inspection, and the number and state of animals.

Under the current law, the Department of Public Health cannot investigate whether or not Owl Cafe A took the sick owls to receive veterinary treatment and whether or not those owls described as “being fostered by a family” are actually alive. On-site inspection authority by the Department of Public Health does not include investigative authority according to the Law for the Humane Treatment and Management of Animals Article 24 that says “The authority of entry and inspection under paragraph 1 shall not be construed as approval for the purpose of criminal investigation.”

The Department of Public Health told us that they were going to perform on-site inspections on a continuing basis, and that they were also going to inspect the hygiene issues around the fact that there is no partition between the cafe space and owl space, and that the cafe uses the same sink area to handle customer drinks and the food for owls (mice and quails).

Submitted a formal request and collected signatures given to Owl Cafe A

Animal Rights Center submitted a formal request and collected signatures which were submitted to Owl Cafe A on January 13, 2017

PLEASE SIGN the petition

[End owl café where the birds are constrained and immobile]

https://www.change.org/p/the-ministry-of-the-environment-end-owls-café-where-the-birds-are-constrained-and-immobile

Petition demanding ban on businesses that use raptors
http://www.arcj.org/en/animals/zoo/00/id=919