Target will no longer sell coconut milk made by Thai company Chaokoh after an investigation alleged the drink is linked to monkey labor, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced on Monday.
“By abandoning Chaokoh, Target is joining thousands of stores that refuse to profit from the poverty of chained monkeys,” wrote PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in a statement.
“PETA’s complaints confirmed that Thai coconut producers are exploiting monkeys and lying about it, so there is no excuse for any supermarket to keep Chaokoh on its shelves.”
PETA, which has been tracking monkey exploitation in Thailand since 2019, has conducted two secret investigations that have found that primates are forced to harvest coconuts all day with chains around their necks. The group’s investigation found “cruelty to monkeys on all farms, in all monkey training facilities and in all coconut harvesting contests that used monkey work.”
“When they were not forced to pick coconuts or perform at circus shows for tourists, the animals were kept tied, chained to old tires or confined in cages barely larger than their bodies,” wrote PETA in a press release.
After PETA’s investigations, the coconut industry claimed that it changed its practice and was no longer using monkey work, but a second investigation found that it was still happening.
“PETA Asia’s second investigation found producers still using monkey work and industry experts discussing how farms hide this practice by simply hiding the monkeys until the auditors leave or hiring contractors to bring the monkeys only during harvest time,” he said. PETA.
Target told the Post that he decided to withdraw the products in November last year.
“We believe in the humane treatment of animals and expect those who do business with us to do the same,” wrote a spokesman in a statement.
“We take complaints made against Chaokoh seriously and, since they were unable to sufficiently address the concerns raised, we made the decision to remove their product from our assortment.”
PETA has been lobbying large supermarket chains to stop selling Chaokoh and, so far, more than 26,000 stores, including Wegmans, Costco, Food Lion, Stop & Shop and now Target, have agreed to cut ties with the brand.
Meanwhile, Kroger, Albertsons and Publix continue to practice.