Legal complaint filed after investigation uncovers horrific cruelty, organic violations, and biosecurity failures tied to Costco’s chicken supply chain
RALEIGH, N.C. — Mercy For Animals has filed a legal complaint following an undercover investigation at an organic chicken farm that raises chickens for Costco. The investigator uncovered chickens beaten with sticks and left alive in dead piles, as well as baby chicks crushed to death and buried alive while still chirping beneath the compost.
The investigation also documented birds collapsing under the weight of bodies bred to grow unnaturally fast and uncovered violations of organic certification requirements, falsified documents, and biosecurity failures linked to potential public health risks.
This is the second time in five years that Mercy For Animals has exposed horrific cruelty connected to Costco’s chicken operations after the company publicly promised reform following a 2021 investigation.
“This investigation exposes horrific suffering that Costco had the power to prevent,” said Arash Yomtobian, president and CEO of Mercy For Animals. “After Mercy For Animals uncovered cruelty in Costco’s chicken supply chain in 2021, the company publicly promised reform. Years later, our investigator found baby chicks crushed to death and buried alive while still chirping beneath the compost, while chickens were beaten with sticks and left alive in dead piles. Costco promised reform. Instead, Mercy For Animals found animals still suffering behind the label.”
“What disturbed me most was realizing these birds spent their entire lives suffering inside barns, never able to express their most basic natural behaviors,” said Sam, a Mercy For Animals undercover investigator. “Even though this Costco supplier farm had the infrastructure for outdoor access, these birds never felt fresh air, sunlight, a breeze, or grass beneath their feet. While investigating the facility, I documented chickens collapsing under the weight of bodies bred to grow unnaturally fast, while others were violently beaten and left alive in dead piles. The level of suffering these animals endured was heartbreaking.”
The farm investigated by Mercy For Animals raises chickens for a dedicated Costco supplier and is estimated to raise 520,000 chickens, producing up to 3.2 million pounds of chicken each year. A meaningful welfare policy from Costco could reduce suffering for more than 250 million chickens every year through proven reforms such as slower-growing breeds, improved living conditions, transparency, and independent auditing.
“Raising animals in these conditions is not only cruel, but violates animal welfare legislation in many regions of the world, which requires adequate access to food, water, and medical care,” said Andrew Knight, BSc./BVMS, PhD (Griff.), PhD (Winch.), MANZCVS, DipECAWBM (AWSEL), DipACAW, FRCVS, PFHEA. “The birds documented in this investigation showed clear signs of severe suffering, including physical impairments, disease, and conditions that compromised their welfare.”
“The solution is clear,” Yomtobian said. “Costco must adopt meaningful, enforceable chicken welfare standards with transparency and accountability across its entire supply chain. Animals cannot wait for another empty promise. Neither will we.”
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Ronnika A. McFall at [email protected].
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Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and the United States, the organization has conducted over 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced over 500 corporate policies, and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. Learn more at MercyForAnimals.org.
