Shares This week, retail chain Target announced that it will no longer carry coconut milk made by Chaokoh after an investigation revealed that the producer uses forced monkey labor to pick coconuts. Investigators on behalf of animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia visited four “monkey schools,” eight farms, and one coconut-picking competition in Thailand to discover that chained monkeys—who were likely illegally captured from the wild as babies—were forced to climb trees and pick coconuts for worldwide distribution. When the animals were not picking coconuts, they were tethered to old tires or kept in cages no larger than their bodies. According to PETA Asia, the animals displayed many signs of mental distress and some would have their canine teeth removed if they tried to defend themselves.