chicken on shelves (l) Rotisserie chicken $4.99 sign (c) cart with rotisserie chickens (r)

@foodiebravo/TikTok

‘Y’all do realize some people have big families they do have to buy more than one’: Viral TikTok shows customers swarming to grab Costco chickens, sparking debate

'Oh no it's the chicken police.'

 

Braden Bjella

IRL

Posted on Jul 13, 2022

A video showing customers eagerly awaiting Costco rotisserie chickens recently went viral on TikTok, sparking debate in the process.

In the video posted by user Bravo (@foodiebravo), customers stare at an empty series of warming shelves. As the rotisserie chickens come in, customers eagerly grab them, with several people taking more than one. At the end of the video, one person has six chickens.

The video currently has over 1.5 million views.

@foodiebravo #costcofinds #costcobuys #costcotiktok #costco #costcomusthaves #costcohaul #costcodeals #costcochicken #costcorotisseriechicken #costcothanks #costcodinner #costcomadness #costcodealsandsteals ♬ What You Waiting For? – Gwen Stefani

At first, users criticized those who took more than a few chickens.

“Its always those greedy people that take more than 2,” one user wrote.

“Why do you need 6,” another asked.

“Why are people so greedy now a days,” a third echoed. “noone can just take 1.”

However, commenters quickly turned on this notion, saying that there were many reasons why a person would need multiple chickens.

“Y’all do realize some people have big families,” a commenter stated. “They do have to buy more than one.”

“Oh no it’s the chicken police,” another user joked about their fellow commenters. “They probably got a big family why yall haters worried for ain’t yalls business…”

According to Bravo, the woman with six chickens actually had a pretty good reason for buying so many at once.

“The person who grabbed 6 was feeding a group home of disabled kids,” Bravo shared in comments. “We had to assist her ( cane in cart) for she’s disabled herself. She Was asking if we could help her grab some.”

While many appreciate the low-price chicken, especially at a time when most other prices are rising, the chicken may come at a cost.

Earlier in the month, Yahoo! News reported that two Costco shareholders were suing the company for its $450 million poultry processing plant in Freemont, Nebraska.

The lawsuit alleges that “Costco illegally neglects and abandons its chickens” and that the company had “consciously disregarded clear signs of Costco’s ongoing mistreatment of chickens.”

This lawsuit was preceded by several exposés of Costco’s chicken treatment, including a viral video by animal rights group Mercy for Animals and an opinion piece in the New York Times. Costco later addressed the claims in a public statement.

“Costco Wholesale is committed to the welfare of animals in its supply chains,” the statement reads, quoted by Yahoo! News. “Although these chickens [broilers] have a life cycle of less than 45 days, their welfare is as important as that of animals that have longer life cycles.”  

The Daily Dot reached out to Bravo via TikTok comment.


Today’s top stories

‘Fill her up’: Bartender gives woman a glass of water when the man she’s with orders tequila shot
‘I don’t think my store has even sold one’: Whataburger employees take picture with first customer who bought a burger box
‘It was a template used by anyone in the company’: Travel agent’s ‘condescending’ out-of-office email reply sparks debate
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
Share this article
*First Published: Jul 13, 2022, 12:03 pm CDT