A BUSINESS premises teeming with customers is a dream scenario for any FnB (food and beverage) outlet but apparently not when customers include misbehaving children hell-bent on mistreating pet attractions at the café.
This was purportedly the scene at the New Rabbit Cafe in Kuala Lumpur where staff were unable to manage the crowd who had come to check out the eatery that had bunnies as its star attraction.
However, according to TikTok user @_that.artgirl, the scene was chaotic as many kids were seen chasing and mishandling the poor animals, oblivious to both staff and parents.
The former, she contends, were more interested in stuffing more customers into an already packed café while the latter were mostly glued to their mobile phones, allowing their “devil spawn” to do as they pleased. She has uploaded a video capturing the busy peak hour at the premises and also voiced her concerns on the outlet’s website, comments which she says have been removed.
She stated that she has forwarded a complaint to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) but has yet to receive a response.
The New Rabbit Café, though, has responded stating that its staff has advised parents that they need to monitor how their children interact with the rabbits. Notices clearly stating the house rules were also pinned up, with only gentle petting allowed.
Few issues crop up here. Firstly, isn’t having rabbits roam around a food outlet a contravention of some food and health regulations? Cute as the bunnies may be, having a potential source of fur, ticks and droppings roaming about a café isn’t really advisable, is it?
As for the misbehaving children, it says more about the parents than their offspring.
Cruelty to animals, intentional or otherwise, is not to be tolerated. Malaysian parents really do need to keep a tighter leash on their brats to avoid them growing up as sociopaths. The TikTok video clearly shows a number of kids running around the premises chasing after the poor creatures without supervision.
Lastly, shouldn’t the main attraction of a café be its food and drink?
While it may be disingenuous to incorporate a petting zoo concept, one would have thought that Malaysians who pride themselves on being foodies would know better than be suckered by such gimmicks. – Oct 11, 2023
Main photo credit: @__that.artgirl (TikTok) and The Rabbit Cafe
