PETA: Costco Will No Longer Sell Coconut Milk Made With Forced Monkey Labor | HuffPost

The animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals lobbied retailers not to sell coconut milk allegedly harvested by chained primates.

By

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

Costco is the latest retailer to stop selling coconut milk allegedly made with forced monkey labor in Thailand, according to the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA said that the big box store agreed to stop selling certain brands of milk from coconuts it alleges was picked by monkeys that were chained, abused and exploited.

PETA made the initial allegation earlier this year. Since then, retailers including Walgreens, Food Lion and Stop & Shop ceased stocking implicated brands of coconut milk, including Chaokoh, according to USA Today.

Costco hasn’t officially announced its decision, and a spokesperson told HuffPost the company was unable to comment.

PETA provided USA Today with a letter sent by Costco Vice President Ken Kimble to the group’s president, Ingrid Newkirk, the newspaper reported.

“We have ceased purchasing from our supplier/owner of the brand Chaokoh,” Kimble reportedly wrote. “We will continue to monitor the implementation of the harvest policies and once satisfied will resume purchasing.”

Aphisak Theppadungporn, managing director of Thai coconut milk producer Theppadungporn Coconut Co. Ltd., in July denied the allegations of forced monkey labor to Reuters. He reportedly said the allegations caused sales to drop as much as 30% from last year.

The company has been auditing plantations since January and has yet to find one that used monkeys, Theppadungporn told Reuters.

PETA’s original video reporting the alleged abuse appears below. The video contains some graphic imagery.

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Before You Go

Animals In The News

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LEFT: The Stargazer fish which bears an uncanny resemblance to Homer Simpson. (Caters News / Getty Images) (credit:Caters News / Getty Images)

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Polydactyl Kittens -- Jan. 2012(14 of117)

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Taxidermied Squirrel -- Dec. 2011(17 of117)

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Giant Crocodile Captured In Philippines -- Sept. 2011(18 of117)

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3-Eyed Nuclear Fish -- Oct. 2011(21 of117)

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Earthquake Dog -- Oct. 2011(22 of117)

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Kayaker Snags Shark -- Sept. 2011(27 of117)

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Animals In The News(31 of117)

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Woman Punches Bear to Save Dog(34 of117)

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Elephant with Prosthetic Leg(35 of117)

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Elephant in Water Reservoir(36 of117)

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Open Rabbit Sport Tournament(37 of117)

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Hippo Goes to the Dentist(38 of117)

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Dolphin's Fake Tail(39 of117)

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Otis, skydiver.(40 of117)

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City Chicks(41 of117)

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Dolphin Flip(42 of117)

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Sprinkles the Koala(43 of117)

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Sprinkles the Koala(44 of117)

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Mobile Home Filled With 154 Reptiles(45 of117)

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Camel in the Family(46 of117)

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Camel in the Family(47 of117)

Charlotte Anderson-Dixon pushes her 18-month-old son Reuben on the swing as Joe the camel watches. (credit:MIkael Buck, Rex / Rex USA)

Camel in the Family(48 of117)

Nathan Anderson-Dixon, his wife Charlotte, their 18-month-old son Reuben, Joe the camel and a reindeer. (credit:Mikael Buck, Rex / Rex USA)

Big Brutus(49 of117)

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Gary, the Kit-Kat Loving Fish.(50 of117)

Sea Life London Aquarium undated handout photo of a giant gourami that aquarium staff have weaned off chocolate. (credit:Sea Life London Aquarium / PA)

Andre The Turtle (51 of117)

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Kitler(52 of117)

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Horse rescued from pool(53 of117)

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Sperm-sniffing Police Dog(54 of117)

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Animals In The News(55 of117)

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Gorilla With Toothache (56 of117)

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Monkey Photographs Self(57 of117)

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Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum(58 of117)

Heidi the cross-eyed opossum is pictured in her enclosure at the zoo in Leipzig, eastern Germany on June 9, 2011. Heidi moved to her new enclosure at the Gondwanaland tropical experience world, which will be inaugurated on July 1, 2011 and where Heidi will be presented to the public for the first time. Cross-eyed Heidi made the headlines in December 2010 and became an internet hit, winning more than 65,000 "friends" on social networking website Facebook. (credit:Johannes Eisele, AFP / Getty Images)

Off-Road Alligator(59 of117)

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Insect with Singing Penis(60 of117)

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Elephant Votes in Thailand(61 of117)

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Deer With Wings(62 of117)

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World's Biggest Bitch(63 of117)

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Antarctic penguin swims to New Zealand(64 of117)

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Two-headed Bearded Dragon(65 of117)

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Scientist Swims With Whales(66 of117)

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Sweden Moose on Loose(67 of117)

The slightly injured moose on its way out in to freedom after his visit to a geriatric care home in Alingsas east of Goteborg, Sweden, Thursday June 9, 2011. The moose jumped through a canteen window into the building in Alingsas in western Sweden Thursday. The residents were evacuated and the moose locked into a small room next to the entrance. Since the moose's injuries were concluded to be minor it was released into freedom. (Adam Ihse, Scanpix/AP) (credit:Adam Ihse, Scanpix/AP)

Bear in Hot Tub(68 of117)

Jenny Sue Rhoades sat down on her couch to watch television when something outside caught her eye. It was a large Florida black bear walking through the back yard of her Barry Court home in southwest Seminole County. (credit:Jenny Sue Rhoades)

Heidi, The Cross-Eyed Possum(69 of117)

German media sensation Heidi the cross-eyed opossum is presented to the press at the Leipzig Zoo on June 9, 2011. On July 1st, 2011 Leipzig Zoo will open the 20,000m2 "Gondwanaland Tropical Experience World" to the public - a near-natural home for 300 exotic animals and more than 17,000 tropical plants with Heidi being one of its inhabitants. (credit:Marco Prosch, Getty Images)

Trouble, The Millionaire Dog(70 of117)

Hotel magnate Leona Helmsley left $12 million for her dog Trouble when she died in 2007, but a judge reduced the bequest to $2 million. (credit:Globe Photos / ZUMA Press)

Earless Bunny(71 of117)

A new-born rabbit without ears is held in Namie City, just outside the 30km exclusion zone of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The owner of the rabbit says it was born without ears on May 7. (credit:Jana Press / ZUMA Press)

Surf Dog(72 of117)

A dog competes during the during the 6th annual Loews Coronado Bay resort surf dog competition in Imperial Beach, near San Diego on June 4, 2011. (credit:Gabriel Bouys, AFP / Getty Images)

Water Skiing Elephant Dies(73 of117)

In this undated 1958 photo provided courtesy of Liz Dane, Dane is shown performing her act with Queenie the water skiing elephant. The Valdosta Daily Times reports that 59-year-old Queenie was euthanized Monday, June 2, 2011, after her health deteriorated. (credit:Liz Dane / AP )

Animals in the News(74 of117)

"Shrek," New Zealand's most famous sheep, died in June at the age of 16. This merino wether (a castrated male sheep) came to the world's attention in 2004 when he was found in a cave near the city of Otago after being on the lam for six years. He had managed to avoid capture all that time and when he was finally found, he was carrying nearly 60 lbs of untrimmed fleece, nearly six times more than the average merino fleece. (credit:Getty Images)

China Liger Cubs(75 of117)

In this photo taken on Thursday, May 19, 2011, a dog nurses two liger cubs at a zoo in Weihai in east China's Shandong province. Cong Wen of Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in eastern China says four cubs were born to a female tiger and a male lion on May 13. The tiger mom fed the ligers for four days then for unknown reasons abandoned them, she says. Chinese zoo workers brought in a dog to nurse them instead, but two died of weakness. (AP) (credit:AP)

Horse plunges into crowd(76 of117)

In this May 5, 2011 image provided by Animals Australia, a riderless horse plunges into a crowd of spectators after jumping a fence at the Warrnambool Grand National Steeple Chase at Warrnambool, Australia. An 80-year-old woman and a two-year-old boy are in stable condition in a hospital while 5 others were also injured. (credit:AnimalsAustralia.org / AP)

Posing Praying Mantis(77 of117)

Giant Malaysian Shield Praying Mantis pictured in Igor's studio in Munich, Germany. (credit:Igor Siwanowicz, Barcroft / Fame Pictures)

Roo the Reading Dog(78 of117)

Roo the Reading Education Assistance Dog (R.E.A.D) helps a pupil at Graytown Elementary School in Graytown, Ohio. (credit:Tina Anderson)

Goose and Deer Become Unlikely Friend (79 of117)

Wildlife experts in Buffalo, N.Y., have been amazed by an unusual springtime friendship between a deer and a nesting goose. It's a relationship that has blossomed inside a cemetery. (credit:David Duprey, AP)

Ride Cow Like a Horse(80 of117)

When Regina Mayer's parents refused to buy her a horse, the 15-year-old German girl trained Luna the cow to be a top-class riding companion. Not only do the two regularly go on long rides together through the picturesque southern German countryside, they even do jumps. (credit:Kerstin Joensson, AP)

Elvis Bug(81 of117)

Is it Elvis... or Bert from "Sesame Street"? This stink bug photographed in Singapore seems to be a fan of one of them -- but it's not clear which one. (credit:Caters News / ZUMA)

Smokey the LOUD Cat(82 of117)

Pet cat Smokey is believed to have the loudest purr in the world -- with piercing purrs as loud as a lawnmower. Most cats purr at around 25 decibels but Smokey's powerful purrs average an amazing 80 decibels. Owners Ruth and Mark Adams, of Northampton, Britain, say Smokey's deafening purrs make it impossible for them to hear the television or radio when she is in the room and they struggle to have telephone conversations. (credit:Geoffrey Robinson, Rex USA)

Camel Fight(83 of117)

Afghan festival-goers watch as a "camel fight" starts during the second day of Persian new year, or "Nowruz," celebrations in Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan. (credit:Massoud Hossaini, AFP / Getty Images)

Missing Rare Indian Star Tortoise(84 of117)

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's Tutti is a rare Indian star tortoise. Butti, the zoo's missing tortoise, looks similar to Tutti. The two are brothers and live at the zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo. (credit:Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)

Sheep Dog(85 of117)

This is a lamb in China that looks just like a dog. Farmers in Fugu County, in western China's Shaanxi Province, were left open-mouthed when they saw the young animal running around their field. The lamb has a mouth, nose, paws and tail which look very similar to a dog's features - but still has a white woolly coat. (credit:Quirky China News / Splash News)

Gibbon Betina(86 of117)

Withe-handed gibbon mother Betina, 32, holds her 2-week-old baby at the Safari zoo in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv on March 17. The birth of the gibbon surprised the zoo staff, as it had been 11 years since Betina last gave birth. (credit:Jack Guez, AFP / Getty Images)

Big Litter(87 of117)

Hania, a 4-year-old Great Dane, feeds her 3-day-old puppies in the Warsaw suburb of Nowa Iwiczna on March 17. Hania gave birth by cesarean section to 17 puppies. (credit:Alik Keplicz, AP)

Spider With Human Face(88 of117)

A rare spider with a human face, known as a lichen crab spider, has been spotted at a nature reserve in Wareham, Dorset, England. (credit:BNPS (Bournemouth News & Picture Service))

Britain's Saddest Puppy(89 of117)

Six-month-old puppy Princess has such delicate skin she can't go outside. While other dogs run free at Britain's Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, Princess must gaze through the window. But this canine, otherwise known as Britain's Saddest Puppy, has become a minor celebrity in the media. (credit:Barcroft / Fame Pictures)

Parrot on Roller Skates(90 of117)

A parrot trained by Italian trainer Anthonie Zattu performs wearing a pair of rollerskates during the International Festival of Cirkus Art on Feb. 20, 2011, in Prague. (credit:Michal Cizek, AFP / Getty Images)

Charlie the Cat(91 of117)

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? No, it's Charlie -- an unlucky cat who happens to look just like the evil Lord Voldemort from the "Harry Potter" films. Charity workers are trying to find a new home for the British kitty, who lost his nose and ears to skin cancer. (credit:Solent News / Rex / Rex USA)

Silverback Strut(92 of117)

Ambam, a silverback gorilla at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, England, shows off the stance that's turned him into a viral video sensation. Ambam doesn't do the typical ape walk -- he stands and struts like a person. (credit:Kevin Jenner / Denise Hardy)

Leaping Lemurs(93 of117)

A group of lemurs encounters a unusual roadblock on the way to their feeding den: a turtle. The lemurs clearly don't want to get into a territorial spat with the creature... so they take turns leaping over it in this photo sequence shot at the Indianapolis Zoo. (credit:Cindy Bendush / Solent News / Rex / Rex USA)

Heidi, The Cross-Eyed Possum(94 of117)

Jeepers, creepers -- where'd she get those peepers? Heidi the cross-eyed possum has become a media sensation in Germany. (credit:Sebastian Willnow, AP)

Titanic Toad(95 of117)

Of course she's unhappy. Who likes getting weighed right after the holidays? This is Agathe, a cane toad, and she's sitting on a toy scale during an annual animal inventory at the Hanover Zoo in Germany on Jan. 5. Agathe weighs a slight hop over 4 pounds. (credit:Holger Hollemann, AFP / Getty Images)

Orange Gator(96 of117)

Sylvia Mythen, a 74-year-old woman from Venice, Fla., snapped the photo of this orange alligator sunning itself by a pond near her home. Florida Wildlife Commission experts have analyzed the photo and determined that the reptile's coloring is not genetic. Officials suspect the animal might be the victim of a prank but won't know for sure until they can examine it. (credit:Sylvia Mythen, AP)

Clothing a Battered Chicken(97 of117)

Amy Leader with Sunny, a rescued chicken, in his newly-knitted sweater. Kind-hearted animal lovers have come to the rescue of a group of featherless chickens by knitting them their very own woolly sweaters. Sunny and his not-so-feathered friends were rehomed after being rescued from a poultry farm. Many of them are missing their plumage because the conditions they used to live in. (credit:Rex / Rex USA)

Rhino Cow(98 of117)

A bizarre three-horned cow has proven itself to be a cash cow for a farmer in Baoding, in China's Hebei province. Farmer Jia Kebing said the 2-year-old cow was born with a small bump on its head that has grown to be nearly 8 inches long and now resembles a rhino's horn. "My farm has fame in this region for this cow, and people came in just paying a visit to this cow," said Jia. (credit:Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA)

Monkey Macaw(99 of117)

This lazy monkey hitches a ride to the top of a tree -- by sitting on the back of a parrot. The squirrel monkey, which lives with a male and female parrot at a hotel in Colombia, was photographed by Alejandro Jaramillo after it hopped onto the macaw. These kinds of bizarre inter-species friendship aren't unheard of, but they aren't common. (credit:Alejandro Jaramillo, Solent News / Rex / Rex USA)

Guru, the Hairless Chimp(100 of117)

Looking almost like a bronze statue of a person, Guru the hairless chimpanzee eats in his enclosure at India's Mysore Zoo. Guru lost all his hair to alopecia, a condition that can also affect humans. (credit:Barcroft / Fame Pictures)

Kangaroo's Human Lifestyle (101 of117)

Beemer the kangaroo has Vegemite on toast with a side salad of fresh-picked wild grasses, accompanied by adoptive "mother" Julianne "Julz" Bradley. (credit:Newspix / Rex / Rex USA)

World's Longest Cat(102 of117)

Robin Henderson stretches her cat, Stewie, outside of her home in Reno, Nev. Stewie, a 5-year-old Maine Coon, has been accepted by Guinness World Records as the world's longest cat at 48.5 inches long. (credit:Andy Barron, Reno Gazette-Journal / AP)

Bear Steals Car(103 of117)

This photo shows a bear inside Ben Story's car on July 23, in Larkspur, Colo. Story said the bear got into his empty car, honked the horn and sent it rolling into a thicket with the bear inside. Sheriff's deputies released the bear using a rope to open the door. (credit:Ben Story, AP)

Piggyback Monkey(104 of117)

Miwa, a baby monkey, rides a young boar named Uribo in the Fukuchiyama City Zoo, in Kyoto, Japan, on Oct. 19. Both have been sheltered by the zoo since June after losing their mothers (credit:Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP / Getty Images)

Rare Lobsters(105 of117)

The odds of seeing these three together are roughly 1 in 900 quintillion -- but a series of timely donations has allowed Connecticut's Maritime Aquarium to put together one of the most unusual lobster displays ever. While the blue lobster is a 1 in a million catch, the orange and calico are even rarer -- with the odds of finding them roughly 1 in 30 million. (credit:The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk / AP)

Pink Kitty(106 of117)

This kitty isn't naturally pink. The cat's owner, Natasha Gregory of Britain told The Sun that she wanted her pet "to match my hair." The 22-year-old also has a shocking dye job. (credit:Solent News / Rex USA)

Yoga Bear(107 of117)

There's Yogi Bear, and there's yoga bear. Meet Santra, a female brown bear at the Ahtari Zoo in Finland, famous for her morning yoga stretches. After the bear woke up from a nap, amateur photographer Meta Penca took amazing shots of her fitness routine, which reportedly lasted about 15 minutes and included a number of poses. (credit:Meta Penca, Bournemouth News / Rex / Rex USA)

Dog Swallows Shot Glass(108 of117)

This dog wanted a drink. Meet Billy the German pointer and the shot glass he swallowed. The pooch underwent emergency surgery after doing a shot of Jagermeister -- and the glass it was served in. The 18-month-old, who lives in Darwin, Australia, downed the glass during a party thrown by house sitters while his owners were away. It wasn't until three days later when Billy began vomiting blood that the house sitters realized something was wrong. (credit:Newspix / Rex / Rex USA)

Chimp Art(109 of117)

In art, there's primitivism and there's primate-vism. Meet Jimmy, a 26-year-old chimpanzee who can paint. Pictured while creating a painting on cardboard on Sept. 20 at a zoo in Niteroi, Brazil, the monkey's art works have caught the attention of zoological experts who plan a special exhibit for the chimp. (credit:Felipe Dana, AP)

Skateboarding With Tillman(110 of117)

Tillman the skateboarding dog is always learning new tricks. The famed canine skater -- who is also an acclaimed surfer and snowboarder -- made an appearance at Madame Tussauds on the Las Vegas Strip on Sept. 16. (credit:Darrin Bush, AFP / Getty Images)

World's Smallest Cow(111 of117)

Swallow, an 11-year-old sheep-sized cow from the West Yorkshire region of England, is one of the stars of the 2011 edition of "Guinness World Records." This 33-inch-high Dexter is the world's smallest cow. (credit:Guinness World Records)

Lip-Syncing Monkey(112 of117)

A female monkey lip-syncs during a show by the monkey drama troupe Prakit Sitpragaan in Bangkok in September. Prakit Sitpragaan has been performing traditional stories adapted from Asian classical novels and folklore in Thailand for more than 30 years. (credit:Rungroj Yongrit, EPA / Corbis)

Giant Atlas Moth(113 of117)

Giant Atlas moths have hatched at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House in Gloucestershire, England. These huge moths -- the largest in the world -- are native to the rain forests of Asia and South America. They don't have stomachs and their mouths do not form properly so they don't eat a thing during their two-week life span. (credit:SWNS)

Smallest Frog(114 of117)

Some frogs eat flies. This tiny amphibian is not much bigger than one. The Microhyla nepenthicola, a newly discovered species of frog, lives in the jungle on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. It is barely larger than a pea. (credit:Indraneil Das, AP)

Beer Deer(115 of117)

A pet deer at a resort in Weihai, northern China's Shandong province has become addicted to beer. According to Zhang Xiangxi, who works as a waitress at the resort's restaurant, she discovered the deer's unusual tastes last November when she was cleaning up after some customers. She comments: "I saw a bottle of beer was still half full so I playfully passed it to the deer. Unexpectedly it bit the bottle and raised its head and drank all the beer in one shot." (credit:Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA)

Two Legged Lamb(116 of117)

A farmer in China's Shandong province has saved a two-legged lamb after being touched by its struggle to survive. Farmer Cui Jinxiu said the lamb was one of two born in July 2010. "The first one was a very healthy and normal one," she told Rex USA. "However, the second one surprised me. With a further look I was surprised to find that the lamb only has two legs." The family thought the lamb wouldn't survive, but it proved its strong desire to live. "I thought of dumping it after it was born, but the next morning it even stood up by itself." (credit:Quirky China News / Rex / Rex USA)

Zookeeper Lives With Lions(117 of117)

Alexander Pylyshenko, 40, will live in a cage with two lions for five weeks to raise awareness about living conditions for animals in captivity. (credit:Getty)

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