Brad Pitt Shames Costco For Cruelty To Animals Over Cramming Of Hens Into Cages Of Supply Chain

Egg-laying hens found an ally in Hollywood actor Brad Pitt who shamed supermarket giant Costco which allegedly failed to keep its promise in 2007 to no longer place the chicken in cages from its supply chain. The Humane Society discovered last week that one Costco supplier still raises egg-laying hens in cages.

Pitt joins another actor, Ryan Gosling, in pressuring the supermarket to keep its promise. On Thursday, Pitt wrote Costco CEO Craig Jelinek a letter pointing out that five or more hens are crammed into the cages that “are not large enough for even one hen to spread her wings,” quotes Alternet.

He adds that years of immobilisation causes the muscles and bones of the animals to atrophy. He describes the practice as cruelty to animals. The actor notes that majority of countries in Europe have banned cages for hens, while California passed a law years ago to also prohibit the use of cages. With these bans, multinationals such as Burger King and Unilever are ditching their cages and Whole Foods had not sold egg from caged chickens in years.

Gosling, in his letter to Jelinek, asked Costco to set plans so that it would be cage-free completely and follow the example of many corporations that meet public demand for products that are more humane and transparency of operations of suppliers in their food chain.

A third actor, Bill Maher, wrote an article in New York Times last week that states he was impressed by Costco’s support for animal protection when it required suppliers to stop placing in gestational cages by 2022 pregnant pigs. “So I don’t understand how Costco can justify its refusal to set a timeline for getting rid of eggs from battery cages, which is the third system, along with pork and veal, in the factory farming cruelty trifecta,” Maher said.

There is no direct response of Costco to the demand of the three actors, but in a statement in June, the supermarket giant notes that different advocacy groups have conflicting stands on egg-laying hens, with some in favour of cages and others against it. Costco insisted it is “committed to the ethical treatment of animals.”

Farm Sanctuary, an animal rights group, says that when three big actors “all weigh in to say that battery cages are horribly abusive of animals and should be banned, it’s time for Costco to listen,” quotes Refinery29. Costco is the third-largest supermarket chain in the US.

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