The monkeys are trapped in the wild when they are small and then trained to pick up to 1,000 coconuts a day. The primates are then treated very poorly, like "coconut machines". This is what PETA's pet rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says. The use of the monkeys is great in Thailand, the organization says.

The animal rights group's alarm has led to several store chains in the UK picking live products with coconut that are suspected to come from monkey harvested fruit. The BBC reports. Examples of companies that end up with several coconut products are Waitrose, Ocado, Co-op and Boots. Products that are removed are, for example, coconut oil and coconut water.

Large amount of coconuts is harvested in Thailand

In its report, PETA writes that monkeys who sometimes try to defend themselves get their teeth extracted. They also claim that a large proportion of the coconuts harvested in Thailand are harvested with the help of monkeys.

According to the organization itself, 15,000 stores will no longer buy these coconut products from manufacturers that the organization has revealed using monkeys as labor.