Independently-owned butcher shops in New Zealand are urging the Government to consider them as essential services as Auckland's COVID-19 lockdown continues.
This comes after the Government announced on Friday that Auckland will remain under alert level 3 restrictions for another 12 days.
Retail Meat New Zealand wrote a letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday asking her to reclassify independent butcher shops as 'essential services'.
"Our butchers are committed to operating safely with strict hygiene, physical distancing, contactless selling, and the use of the NZ COVID Tracer app. They can implement all the same processes that local dairies have followed throughout the alert levels," the letter says.
Pippa Hawkins, general manager of Retail Meat New Zealand, told Newshub butcher shops have proved that they can meet safe operating protocols.
Under alert level 3 restrictions, butchers are allowed to offer contactless and delivery services only.
"It limits the amount of business that can do and they're not operating at full capacity by any means," she said.
"They were misinformed at the last lockdown and got stuck with so much stock, some up to half a million dollars - which was devastating for the industry.
"If we were to go back down that route, it would be trouble.
"It would be hard for them and we'd see a number of butchers closing their doors," Hawkins said.
At alert level 3, only supermarkets, dairies, petrol stations, pharmacies or permitted health services were allowed to have customer-facing operations.
Ardern said on Thursday she understands the lockdown is "putting extraordinary pressure" on businesses but said the "best long-term economic response" is for New Zealand to respond immediately under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
