Walmart drops Chaokoh coconut milk after PETA allegations about forced monkey labor
Target, Wegmans and Costco have already stopped selling the brand
Walmart is pulling a popular brand of coconut milk off their shelves after reports of forced monkey labor.
Walmart became the latest retail giant to drop Chaokoh coconut milk from its catalog.
The mega-retailer pulled the beverage due to repeated allegations of monkey slave labor in its production.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) accused the Thai coconut milk supplier of using monkey slave laborers for harvest, which it claims are kept chained and improperly cared for.
TARGET WON'T SELL THAI COCONUT MILK AFTER PROBE SHOWS PRODUCT MADE BY FORCED MONKEY LABOR: REPORT
Workers pack cans with coconut milk at Chaokoh coconut products company plant in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand July 23, 2020. (REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa / Reuters Photos)
"The coconut trade uses social monkeys as chained-up coconut-picking machines, depriving them of any opportunity to eat, play, or spend time with their families," said Tracy Reiman, PETA's executive vice president.
Activist who are members of the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) using monkey masks while holding an action in front of the Thai Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia on Dec. 8, 2020. (Jefta Images/Future Publishing via Getty Images / Getty Images)
PETA, which has been tracking monkey exploitation in Thailand since 2019, conducted two undercover investigations that found primates are forced to pick coconuts all day with chains around their necks. The group’s probe found "cruelty to monkeys on every farm, at every monkey-training facility, and in every coconut-picking contest that used monkey labor."
PETA has been lobbying major grocery chains to stop selling Chaokoh and so far, more than 26,000 stores, including Wegmans, Costco, Food Lion, Stop & Shop and Target, have agreed to cut ties with the brand.
A worker processes coconuts at a Chaokoh coconut products company plant in Samut Songkhram province, Thailand July 23, 2020. (REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa / Reuters Photos)
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The New York Post contributed to this report.