Wild animal cafes will be banned by the government as it aims to better safeguard animals, which are allowed to interact with humans in these establishments, the Ministry of Environment said on Friday, The Korea Times reported.
The move comes following hygiene concerns and on the well-being of the animals as these cafes cause them stress through their exposure to people.
“There are 159 such cafes nationwide where raccoons, meerkats, prairie dogs as well as various amphibians and reptiles are on display,” said a ministry official.
“Exhibiting such wild animals in indoor settings, besides zoos, is undesirable from an ecological point of view and for their welfare, so we are planning to move them to more adequate facilities.”
Wild animal cafes will be shut down if the National Assembly approves the related revision bill.
They will, however, be granted a grace period of three to four years.
The National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon County in South Chungcheong Province will shelter the animals from the cafes.
By 2025, the government aims to establish a couple of protection facilities to have wild animals raised in private, as well as those abandoned, protected.
A temporary protection system will first be run by the government alongside ten wildlife rescue centers across South Korea before these facilities will be opened.
Among the wild animals from these cafes are raccoons, which, when released into the wild, have the probability to disturb the local ecosystem.
With this concern, the ministry said that it will operate a pilot program to have the animals registered.
Aspiring zoo operators will also need to secure permits from authorities.
So far, zoo operations are allowed only with registration.
The grace period of more than five years will allow the total of 107 zoos across South Korea to secure permission needed for continued operation. They need to satisfy requirements for animal hygiene, protection, and safety. Failure to do so will result in their operations being stopped.