Some of the baby chicks were still chirping after they were raked in and buried alive beneath compost.
That sentence is difficult to write. It’s even more difficult to imagine or witness. Yet it is one of the many realities Mercy For Animals documented during our latest undercover investigation at a USDA-certified organic chicken farm that supplies Costco.
Our undercover investigation documented chickens beaten with sticks and repeatedly bludgeoned with a pipe, injured animals left to languish among the bodies of their dead flockmates, and birds collapsing under their own weight, who could no longer walk or even reach food and water at a North Carolina farm raising them for Costco. Our investigator also documented baby chicks crushed to death and buried alive.
The newly released footage uncovers birds bred to grow unnaturally fast, biosecurity failures linked to potential public health risks, and conditions inconsistent with USDA organic requirements, even though these chickens were marketed to Costco shoppers as “certified organic.”
I’ve seen undercover investigations for many years, and this footage was still difficult to watch. Not because these abuses are unprecedented, but because it continues to happen behind labels that millions of people trust.
Animals and consumers deserve better.
Most Costco members that I know—especially those who seek out the “organic” label—would likely be shocked to learn animals suffered this way in a supply chain connected to a company they trust and rely on. No animal should be beaten, crushed, buried alive, or left to die in agony because a company failed to prevent this cruelty.
The farm Mercy For Animals investigated is estimated to confine up to 520,000 chickens at a time and produce roughly 3.2 million pounds of chicken each year for a dedicated Costco supplier. But this investigation is about more than one farm. It exposes a food system that too often prioritizes production and profit over animals’ well-being.
Costco was warned. Costco promised. Yet the cruelty continued.
This is the second time in five years that Mercy For Animals has exposed cruelty connected to Costco’s chicken supply chain. After our 2021 investigation drew national attention, Costco publicly committed to improving animal welfare. Yet our latest investigation found the company had not adopted meaningful, enforceable animal welfare standards.
Across its supply chain, Costco has the opportunity to reduce suffering for more than 250 million chickens annually by implementing proven measures, including slower-growing breeds, improved living conditions, stronger oversight, and greater transparency.
Together, we can hold Costco accountable.
Costco now has another opportunity to do what it promised years ago: implement meaningful, enforceable animal welfare standards, increase transparency, and help prevent this cruelty from happening again.
Your voice is animals’ chance for change. Tell Costco: No more baby chicks buried alive. Demand an end to the abuse in its chicken supply chain.
Animals cannot wait for another empty promise, and neither will we.
