Cura Mundus

Lily McMenemy, Assistant Opinion Editor

Welcome to Cura Mundus, the regular conservation column where we seek to “care for the world!” This week’s highlight species is the civet, paradoxurus hermaphroditus.

Fascinatingly, despite being cat–like in size and dog–like in appearance, they are neither felines nor canines, and are a kind of mammal native to south and southeast Asia. 

Civets have been heavily processed and farmed for their unique “exotic” characteristics. They secrete musk from their perineal gland, which they use to mark their territory. In the perfume industry, this musk was harvested to be used as a fixative — an ingredient which allows scents to have high longevity on skin. Musk was used most commonly from the Musk deer, but was also harvested from whales, beavers and naturally the civet. In its original formula, Chanel No. 5 contained civet musk. 

Civets also eat coffee cherries, which are the fruits that produce coffee beans on the inside. The civets digest the fruit and excrete the coffee beans. The beans are then harvested, post–digestion, and made into a luxury coffee called Kopi Luwak, which means “coffee from the civet.” It is considered a delicacy as the process of digestion breaks down the bitterness and acidic compounds within the beans. 

In order to meet demand for Kupi Luwak, civets are kept in cramped cages, malnourished, subjected to disease and victims of high mortality. The industry relies on severe animal abuse and cruelty. 

The perfume industry, however, when faced with animal rights concerns, stepped up and adapted. Chanel No. 5 — the most popular perfume of all time — changed its formula. Perfumeries developed a synthetic alternative to civet musk, which is now widely used in perfumes.

There is an incredible amount of beautiful things that animals produce and that humans want to use and commercialize. Instead of taking relentlessly without mercy, we must begin to respect the source. We have something to offer that animals simply do not — the ability to know better. This pertains to both science and morality. It is imperative that we find ethical, sustainable alternatives for animal products, so that they do not have to be subjected to our greed and cruelty, and we can begin to find pride in respecting them.