Dear Supporter,

In its most recent animal welfare policy update, Costco tells us that it now plans to source its U.S. and Canadian pork from suppliers only using “open-pen housing”  -- IOW no gestation crates.  

However … Costco also says “ there still may be times” when gestation crates are used. Typically, this refers to 5-6 weeks of confinement that most major pork producers (including Costco’s) use at the beginning of a mother pig’s pregnancy cycle. This confinement represents one third of the pregnancy cycle! 

The good news here is that Costco says “Our goal over time is to minimize the time in confinement.”

So what does this mean exactly?  We believe that Costco is aiming to transition to more forward thinking producers who use newer technologies along and existing husbandry practices to reduce confinement time to less than 10 days. Although we all want no confinement, this would be progress!!

What We Now Need From Costco: Transparency on Progress   

It’s promising that Costco appears to be moving in this direction. Hopefully, in the coming months, Costco provides us with more specifics about its progress towards minimizing confinement time from 5-6 weeks to less than 10 days. 

You Can Help by Contacting Costco 

Costco members: 

• Call 1-800-774-2678  - Option #4/product information.  Have your membership number handy. Once connected to a representative, introduce yourself. Use the ideas below as a guide about what to say or have your own polite conversation.​​​​​​
• Chat online. Hit the “chat us” button on the lower right of the page. 

Costco and NonCostco members:  

• Go to Costco.com.  Just click the “Feedback” tab on the right side of the screen or scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Feedback".
• Comment on Costco’s Facebook page

Ideas about what to say to Costco: 

• Thank Costco for paying attention to member concerns about the treatment of pigs by its pork suppliers
• Tell Costco you are encouraged that they are making real efforts to reduce confinement time in gestation crates
• Mention that their animal welfare policy says “our goal over time is to minimize the time in confinement” is very vague
• Request that they publicly share progress towards this goal with their members

Thank you for your support!