Costco sued over alleged inhumane treatment of chickens

Costco rotisserie chickens are famous for their incredibly low price. That low price, however, actually comes at a cost – the humane treatment of the chickens on their farms. Two shareholders from the company are now suing the wholesale giant for that very reason. They claim that the company and its top executives have violated animal welfare laws in how they raised their chickens.

Shareholders Suing Costco Over Maltreatment of Chickens

There are animal welfare laws in place in the United States to protect farm animals being raised for food from inhumane practices. Costco, whose wholesale rotisserie chickens are famous for being just $4.99, however, perhaps do not meet these standards. Two shareholders with the company are suing Costco over the inhumane way they allegedly raise their chickens. (1)

The lawsuit says that they raise the chickens to grow extremely rapidly. Quickly they become too fat to even stand on their own, let alone move. The birds slowly die of hunger, thirst, injury, and illness. They sold over 106 million of these chickens last year alone, meaning hundreds of millions of chickens are subjected to this kind of cruelty. 

What makes this especially sad is that Costco is in charge of its poultry production from start to finish. From the moment these chickens are hatched, they are subject to these gruesome conditions. All of this is to help them keep the cost of their chickens lower than the rest of their competitors. 

The chickens spend their lives living in an overcrowded, unsanitary, and stressful environment. They live in these dirty giant chicken sheds where they have no choice but to sit in their own filth. Because of how quickly they are forced to grow and how heavy they become, many lose their feathers. Their skin then comes in contact with the floor, resulting in ammonia burns. (2)

Read: Are cheaper eggs just as nutritious as organic or free-run options? Here are the answers.

Not The First Complaint

What makes this lawsuit even sadder is that it is not the first time people have spoken out about the poor treatment of Costco chickens. In 2021, the animal rights group Mercy For Animals went undercover and filmed what was really happening in the Costo chicken facilities. What they caught on camera was quite disturbing: Hundreds of badly injured chickens in incredibly overcrowded factory farms.

Using that footage, the New York Times and a number of other notable news outlets published investigative articles on the treatment of chickens at Costco. Not only was this maltreatment made public knowledge, but Costco was even forced to respond to the articles. Costco’s top executives had an obligation to investigate their chicken farms and correct these problems. Clearly, as this new lawsuit points out, they did not do that. (3)

“Costco illegally neglects and abandons its chickens,” the suit, filed this month in Seattle claims. Company executives, the lawsuit states, “caused, [are] aware of, and consciously disregarded clear signs of Costco’s ongoing mistreatment of chickens.” (4)

Read: Someone Explained Why Veganism Is Not Cruelty-Free, And It Might Make You Think Twice

Hope for Change

Naturally, the shareholders and animal rights groups making the allegations are hoping for change. If Costco does not change their practices, or at the very least is not forced by law to change them, then they hope that the people will push for it. They hope that spreading the word about the inhumane way in which Costco raises their chickens will make people think twice before purchasing one. If people protest by simply buying their chickens elsewhere, then Costco will have no choice but to clean up their act.

“As more consumers learn of the mistreatment of Costco chickens, the benefits reaped using loss-leading rotisserie chickens to drive customer traffic and purchases . . . will vanish or greatly diminish because consumer preferences to not buy products made illegally or unethically will trump the lure of a ‘cheap’ chicken.” the lawsuit states.

If you find this article upsetting, then as a consumer your best move is to take your money elsewhere. Spend a dollar or two more on your rotisserie chicken at another store and stop supporting Costco’s practices. As consumers, we don’t get to sit in the boardroom and argue with executives over how they raise their animals. We do, however, get to choose where we spend our money. If Costco starts losing money because the people refuse to buy poorly treated animals, then they have no choice but to change. 

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