[Animals] A cutie and a raccoon: cafes with exotic animals proliferate in China

[UltimaTexCS]

The cafes where you can play with dogs and cats are already a classic in the big cities of China. So much so that some establishments have decided to go further and incorporate other far less common animals such as ducks, raccoons or even alpacas.

In the eastern megalopolis of Shanghai, more and more cafes are trying to attract customers with animals that, until now, could only be seen in zoos. And it's not just about seeing them behind a window, but about interacting with them.

China's booming animal cafes

In his cafeteria, located in a shopping center in the north of the city, Xiao Qi, a 35-year-old man, has more than a hundred animals of 20 different species: from purebred cats to pigs, through chinchillas, rabbits, tarantulas. , snakes, ferrets or lizards.

But the stars are a pair of alpacas, a male and a female - castrated so that they do not give "problems" - that attract the attention of the little ones while they graze, oblivious, in a small corral at the entrance of the business. , says its owner, it cost about 30,000 yuan (about $ 4,600 or 3,900 euros).

China's booming animal cafes

Anyone who wants to have a juice and caress one of them must make an appointment in advance and pay an entrance fee of 88 yuan (13.5 dollars, 11.4 euros), which gives the right to spend a maximum of two hours with the animals.

Young couples and parents with children

Most of the 600 or so people who come to this peculiar cafeteria each month are parents who bring their children or young couples, and the workers explain to them how they have to treat each animal.

During Efe's visit to the establishment, a worker taught a little girl how to hold a ferret by the front legs and make it do cartwheels, without the animal giving any sign of resisting or being uncomfortable. "Normally the people who come are animal lovers and treat them well in their own right, but if they treat them badly we explain how they have to do it," explains Xiao Qi, who assures that none of his animals have reacted aggressively to the interaction with any of your customers.

Of course, it is difficult to maintain harmony between so many different species in such a small space, and that is why they have learned not to remove the animals that get on badly at the same time, rotating them "regularly" and letting them rest in their cages.

Others have found that alpacas prefer to be stroked on the head and that, if touched on the belly or hindquarters, they spit. "Although it happens more to us (the caregivers) because we clean them, brush them ...", she admits, laughing.

Danger of contagion?

Asked if a cafeteria is the best place to have alpacas, Xiao Qi explains that "they have a very good character" and that they are not always in their corral in the cafeteria, but they take them for walks "like dogs" in the vicinity and then at night they are taken to a "bigger" place to rest.

China's booming animal cafes

"All animals have their licenses," defends Xiao Qi, who explains that Chinese laws allow him to keep all his animals - even alpacas - as pets, and states that he has never received any direct criticism for his business.

The pandemic has affected the cafeteria twice: first, because it was forced to close between January and March of last year, and only spending on food already amounts to between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan each month (between 1,540 and 3,080 dollars, between 1,290 and 2,580 euros).

And, second, because scientific evidence points to the fact that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus could pass from the bat to an intermediate host - a wild animal - and from there, to humans, among whom it has caused havoc for more than a year. anus.

Xiao Qi assures that there is no danger in his cafeteria, that all his animals are healthy and that "if they do not bite, they cannot transmit any virus, so everything is fine."
But when it comes to less predictable animals, things change: in another Shanghai café, the stars are the raccoons. Its owner, Cheng Chen, 36, explains that all customers receive safety instructions and a kind of protective apron.

In his case, the pandemic was an opportunity to give an animal a new home: of the eight he has in his establishment - among them, a three-month-old baby - one bought it from a Chinese zoo that was forced to sell some of their creatures because the absence of visitors due to covid-19 depleted their income.

Although she has received scratches more than once, she says that her raccoons - which she feeds with dog food - are playful, respond to their names and can recognize people due to their good memory: «They are smarter than dogs and cats.