Some Kiwi Muslims go vegetarian as lockdown rules see halal butchers close

Kiwi Muslims say they’re having to go vegetarian as lockdown rules see specialty butchers around the country close their doors.

It comes as Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon called on the Government to allow halal butchers and other small food businesses to open, saying rules need to be culturally sensitive.

Last week the Government announced that butchers, bakers and grocers had to close under Level 4 lockdown rules.

But many Kiwi Muslims say they can’t get halal meat at supermarkets, and the lockdown is forcing them to eat mostly vegetables until the lockdown ends.

Wellington women Farah and Farzana told 1 NEWS they are buying vegetables for their families because they can’t trust that meat from the supermarket is 100 per cent halal.

“Right now we are just eating vegetables and pastas, Maggi, those kind of things,” Farzana said.

Farah said she didn’t mind going veggie for four weeks, but that she really hopes the lockdown doesn’t extend until April 23, when the holy month of Ramadan begins and Muslims can’t eat or drink anything during daylight hours.

“Ramadan is a month and we are fasting the whole day, after that vegetables is not enough.”

Although several halal butchers have closed, some remain open because they believe they are allowed to.

Wellington butcher Maher Abboud says he’s the only halal butcher still open in the capital and that he’s spoken with the Ministry for Primary Industries. He says the Ministry advised him to stay open, and that officials said they would visit to check he was maintaining good safety and hygiene practices.

Mr Abboud says he’s faced abuse from members of the public and has had to call the police on one occasion.

“A woman was annoyed that I’m open and selling halal meat for customers, she came up to my door and was hitting it. I closed my door 'cause I’ve seen that she’s very angry, she was about to break everything,” he said.

In a statement MPI told 1 NEWS “if you are not an essential service or support service, or if we have advised you not to operate, you should already be closed”.

Mr Foon says he wants ministers to urgently respond to the calls from communities for essential services that fit with religious and cultural rules.

“The availability of halal meat and other foods for religious or cultural reasons is supported by various United Nations declarations and covenants that New Zealand has signed up to,” he said.

“My message to people discriminating is to ask them to be kind and learn a bit other people’s culture by education, by looking at the internet, you understand why their cultural differences are very special to them.”

The commissioner says he also thinks butchers and grocers should be allowed to open in poorer regional areas where people don’t have access to public transport, like in his hometown of Gisborne.

“The taxi ride is $20 and $20 every few days is a lot of money for people with fixed incomes. To go to supermarket is a huge burden to those people and unfair for poorer communities.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told media today that a final decision on halal products would come “very shortly”.

“My understanding is there are some who choose because of various practises not to shop at supermarkets that perhaps is the barrier rather than halal products.”

Muslim Kiwis 1 NEWS spoke to say there is a very limited range of halal products in New Zealand supermarkets. Countdown says it doesn’t sell halal-certified products.

Muslim community advocate Guled Mire says where halal products are available, there is often uncertainty about how those products are stored and transported and whether they’ve come into contact with pork and other non-halal products.

“A lot of Muslims are reluctant to buy halal meat from the supermarket because a) they can’t certify the meat is halal and also they’re worried about cross contamination,” Mr Mire said.

“We’re happy to go to the supermarket, we just need assurances it’s not going to be cross-contaminated with other meat and also that accurate packaging is provided."

He says the Muslim community really wants to do its bit to battle Covid-19, which is why so many have chosen to forgo meat entirely, but that it’s not a reasonable expectation for all Muslim Kiwis.

“No one’s asking the rest of New Zealand to go vegetarian and I’m pretty sure there’d be a big uproar if that was the case. We’re not asking for all halal butchers to be open. We’re just asking that adequate access to be provided.”