Our Owston's civet soft enamel pin badge is designed by Peppermint Narwhal who have partnered with The Civet Project to help raise awarness of civets and the threats that they face.

100% of profits go directly to The Civet Project Foundation, to support our work protecting the world's civet species. 

About the Owston's civet:

Owston's civets (Chrotogale owstoni) are the only member of the Chrotogale genus within the Viverridae family. They can occur in a variety of evergreen habitats, primarily forests and wooded lowland river basins. Their distribution in Lao PDR, China and Vietnam is limited to these declining habitats, with one remaining stronghold in The Annamite Mountain Range. Owstons are very unique and differ from other species of civets in various ways; one being their activity. They are terrestrial, meaning they spend the majority of their time on the forest floor. This may be due to their diet, which is also unique as it is made up largely of insects, particularly earthworms. Though there is a lack of field research, they are presumed to be mostly solitary, however, there is not much known about their reproduction or territorial behaviours.​
 
Unfortunately, their terrestrial nature combined with their habitat preference for the forests and wooded lowland river basins of northern Vietnam, Laos and southern China, have rendered Owston's civets highly vulnerable to human activities. Owston's civets are extremely susceptible to indiscriminate snaring which is pervasive throughout their range. Once caught, Owston's civets are illegally traded into the exotic pet, and wild meat industries. Due to their diet, they cannot be used for civet coffee, but can be illegally captured and held in these facilities until sold for other means. ​Owston's civet are listed as Endangered by the IUCN and recent research described the species as facing "impending extinction." Climate change and habitat fragmentation are also forcing owstons civets to higher elevations. The Annamite Mountain Range is now considered the species last remaining stronghold. There is currently only one in-situ breeding and release programme for this species, located in Vietnam.​
 
The Civet Project has highlighted the owston's civet's plight through pledges to Reverse The Red on the species decline, and have released a documentary highlighting the impact of the civet coffee industry on their wild populations.