Walmart is a behemoth company that regularly draws the ire of environmentalists, labor movements and human rights advocates alike. The company once more finds itself in a negative spotlight - by selling dolphin-deadly tuna in it's online and brick-and-motar stores in Latin America.
Admittedly, Walmart has done some things right. In June of 2000, Vice President Jay Allen wrote to the Earth Island Institute's Dolphin Safe program to announce that they would no longer purchase or sell tuna that had been procured at the expense of dolphin lives. "We understand our customer's concerns... and are committed to a strict dolphin-safe standard on canned tuna," said Allen in the letter.
It has recently been discovered, however, that Walmart has been selling dolphin-deadly tuna after all - in stores and on websites within Mexico, Costa Rica, and other Latin American countries.
“WalMart's claims of being humane to animals are false," says Mark Berman, director of Earth Island Institute's International Dolphin Safe Tuna Monitoring Program. "They need to live up to their committments and stop supporting dolphin harrassment and killing by the tuna industry. There are plenty of Dolphin Safe sources of tuna for Walmart to provide for their customers in Latin America."
Public pressure is needed to urge Walmart to stop selling tuna that kills and injures thousands of dolphins each year. Please sign our petition to put pressure on Walmart to do the right thing.
To find out more about the Dolphin Safe tuna program, click here. To make a donation to support our work, please click here.