Is it wrong to give a monkey a job? Is it more wrong than, say, giving a job to a dog, or a horse, or any of the other animals we routinely give jobs to?
Of course, most people would agree that the working conditions matter, and the story below suggests that the monkeys in question, here are “stuffed in cages” after their shifts (as opposed, for example, to merely being kept in cages, like other captive monkeys. Clearly, we need to know more, but it doesn’t seem obviously wrong to give monkeys jobs, does it?
>>>
LINK: Costco pulling products allegedly made with forced monkey labor (by Gabrielle Fonrouge for New York Post)
The alleged use of forced monkey labor has led Costco to stop selling Thai-made coconut products.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been tracking such animal abuse since 2019, while urging retailers to pull merchandise made from the bad actors to discourage the practice, USA Today reported.
“No kind shopper wants monkeys to be chained up and treated like coconut-picking machines,” PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement, according to the outlet….
….
What do you think?
Note: One of us wrote about a parallel issue, over a decade ago — the issue of monkeys working as waiters in restaurants:
- Monkey Waiters: Burning Ethical Issue? (Oct 9, 2008)
- Monkey Waiters & Ethics, Redux (Oct 9, 2008)
Brought to you by:
Business Ethics Highlights 
The monkeys are just trying to support their families.