British stores remove coconut products after reports of Thai monkey labour
- According to a PETA Asia probe, pigtailed macaques are taken from the wild and used by some Thailand farms to pick coconuts
- Some of the farmers investigated were supplying products that were eventually sold by major Thai coconut milk producers to retailers overseas, the probe alleges
The Telegraph newspaper published a report citing the probe by PETA Asia, which highlighted the use of pigtailed macaques taken from the wild in Thailand and forcibly trained in farms to scurry up trees and harvest coconuts used to make coconut milk, meat, flour, oil, and other products.
According to PETA Asia, some farmers investigated were producing products that were eventually sold by Aroy-D and Chaokoh, two major Thai coconut milk producers.
Walmart-owned Asda said it was removing Aroy-D and Chaokoh-branded products from sale while it investigated the report with its suppliers.
“We expect our suppliers to uphold the highest production standards at all times and we will not tolerate any forms of animal abuse in our supply chain,” it said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said it was actively reviewing its ranges and investigating the issue. “We are also in contact with PETA UK to support our investigations,” she said.
“Glad Waitrose, Co-op, Boots & Ocado have vowed not to sell products that use monkey labour, while Morrisons has already removed these from its stores,” Symonds said on Twitter.
“We don’t tolerate these practices and would remove any product from sale that is known to have used monkey labour during its production,” a spokesman said.
