A coati was bitten to death by a fox at an animal cafe in Seoul, fueling accusations that the cafe was negligent in protecting its animals.

Local animal protection activist group Aware announced Thursday that a coati, a raccoon-like animal, died after it was bitten by a fox, at an animal cafe in Mapo-gu, Seoul. 


The veterinarian who performed surgery on the coati said its front leg, hind leg and tailbone were bitten off by the fox.

Cafes at which customers can pet unusual animals are an increasing trend in Korea, but questions have been raised over whether they are safe for the animals.

The activist group accused the cafe of abusing the animals by not providing an appropriate environment for them.

“The animals it kept -- a coati, northern fox, desert fox, prairie dog, boa constrictor, and chinchilla -- were not separated by species,” an official from the group was quoted as saying by the Hankyoreh newspaper.

The cafe refuted the claim, saying that the coati and the fox were not kept in the same enclosures. It added that a 1.2-meter high partition separated the two animals.

The cafe’s official said, “The fox unexpectedly leapt over the partition and attacked the coati. Have built a wall since the incident.”

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)