It gives locals in Christchurch the benefit of getting great quality, low priced meat products along with a full range of fresh produce, grocery, dairy and bakery products courtesy of Harvest Market. Many large families, people with no transport and people with limited mobility are stuck in a bit of a no man's land between supermarkets and simply can not afford supermarket prices with prices rising throughout lockdown. The Mad Butcher Ferry Rd know this because of the incredible 7,000 positive reactions to a post announcing their opening.

They were told to base their decision to open on whether they met the description of a supermarket. The below extract comes directly from the MBIE Covid 19 website and outlines the criteria for being a supermarket.

"All supermarkets and dairies are considered essential services. A supermarket's primary focus is selling food products, and is a retail store operating on a self-service basis, selling groceries, fresh produce, meat, bakery and dairy products, and sometimes an assortment of non-food goods."

They have sold all of the above since they opened in 2011 and therefore were extremely confident they could open lawfully.

They also believe that MBIE have found their unique format and association with Mad Butcher challenging to comprehend.

Unfortunately they were closed down by the police who were instructed by MBIE on the 31st March 2020.

PLEASE STAND BEHIND OUR LOCAL BUTCHER AND OWNERS NICOLE AND STEVE VICKERY