An undercover investigation by PETA has revealed the surprising extent to which enslaved monkeys are used in Thailand’s coconut industry. These coconuts are used in products sold by major brands such as Aroy-D and Chaokoh.

Investigators visited ‘monkey schools’ and farms where chained and caged monkeys were forced to climb palm trees to pick coconuts. Their canine teeth were often pulled out and they displayed stereotypic symptoms of extreme stress, for example shaking, throwing themselves against cage bars, and screaming in fear.

Over 15,000 stores have since committed to discontinuing purchasing these products. Walgreens Boots Alliance will not be stocking any Aroy-D and Chaokoh products and their own brand lines will not knowingly contain any coconut food and drink products of Thai origin. Walgreens Boots Alliance includes Walgreens and Duane Reade in the US and Boots in the UK and Thailand.

UK retailers Waitrose, Co-op, Ocado and Morrisons have dropped all Aroy-D and Chaokoh products or made a commitment to not buy any products using monkey labour. Asda has also dropped the brand Chaokoh and Tesco have delisted Chaokoh from their UK stores and are investigating their international supply lines.

In the US, Bed Bath & Beyond's Cost Plus World Market has stopped buying coconut products from Chaokoh. Likewise, Ahold Delhaize (which includes Giant Food, Food Lion, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford as well as Albert Heijn in the Netherlands) have committed to no longer knowingly stocking and selling any products sourced from suppliers that use monkey labour.

The PETA investigation found that some Thai companies such as Harmless Harvest which grow dwarf trees for coconut water do not use monkey labour. However, PETA advises people and companies worldwide to boycott coconut products from Thailand until the Thai government instates a ban on the enslavement of monkeys.

Article by Iona Haines.