GRAPHIC ANIMAL RIGHTS VIDEO PROMPTS QUICK RESPONSE FROM COSTCO September 01, 2010
(NATIONAL) -- A graphic animal rights video that has gone viral – narrated by former game show host Bob Barker, long an animal rights activist – has prompted Costco to issue a quick statement saying it fell short in it’s responsibility to oversee a supplier of meat and intends not to make the same mistake again.
WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS GRAPHIC SCENES NOT EVERYONE WILL WANT TO WATCH OR SHOULD WATCH
The undercover video released by the group 'Mercy for Animals' was reportedly shot at an Ohio farm, which supplies veal to Costco and other stores.
In the video calves are shown tethered by chains in small wooden pens in an environment the voice over calls “confinement is so extreme that the calves can't even turn around or lie down comfortably."
It is not known if any governmental body has viewed the video and declared it an accurate, un-spliced and otherwise unretouched portrayal of the events it claims to document.
Costco,the nation's third largest retailer, apparently feels the information on the video is legitimate and has released the following statement:
“The Company had not been aware of the issue before we saw the video. We are extremely disappointed not only with the performance of our supplier in this instance, but with our own performance as well. We hold ourselves to a high standard, and in this case, we plainly did not perform to that standard."
Costco is in the process of developing a more definitive written policy to make clear its long-standing position that any type of cruel treatment of animals is unacceptable.
All of Costco’s suppliers are aware that Costco insists upon ethical treatment of all animals involved in producing products for sale in its warehouses, without exception.
The Company has an inspection program to ensure that its suppliers are in compliance with its standards, but in this case that inspection program did not uncover the problem.
Costco takes full responsibility for this error. It will increase its vigilance in the future to see that its policies are adhered to by all of Costco’s suppliers.”
