High supermarket prices driving demand for homekill meat

Homekill is the slaughtering and butchering of farmed animals for your own use and consumption. Photo / File

RNZ

Demand for homekill meat across the country is increasing, with businesses putting it down to the rising cost of food.

However, rules around homekill are pushing people to look at hobby farming, or at least owning one animal, to keep their costs down.

Waikato homekill service Wally Smith reported its business was up 30 per cent compared to this time last year.

Wally Smith’s Barbara Lankow believes the cost of meat at supermarkets has forced customers to look for alternative options, despite having to up their own prices due to inflation.

“We were a bit worried with all the price increases that everyone would go away from it, but we seem to be getting a little bit more now that the price is so dear in the supermarket,” Lankow said.

“We found that even with our prices being up, people are still going for it, so it’s good at our end.”

Homekill is the slaughtering and butchering of farmed animals for your own use and consumption. It can be done by the person who owns the animal, or by a listed service provider.

However, it is illegal to sell or trade homekill meat.

Under the Animal Products Act, a person must own the animal for a total of 28 days before it is butchered by a homekill service. This leaves only the animal owner, or their direct family, farm workers and their direct family able to consume the end product.

Lankow said while hunting for deer and pigs is also an option, many are finding ways to ensure they have their own quality meat for reasonable pricing.

“A lot of farmers are giving a lot more to their brothers and sisters and family. But I think a lot of people will most probably be looking at buying animals and trying to graze them somewhere and do it that way.”

She said the price to do this with a beast, once you have included the cost of the homekill, would be around $2000. However, sheep are a lot cheaper to initially buy.

“I’ve noticed a lot of people are trying to buy sheep - because sheep are normally about that $180-$200 … then you’re cutting up on top of that.

“It’s not as much, so I’m getting a lot of people ringing up and trying to find them.”

Other businesses spoken to by RNZ also said demand had increased - one saying the increase started before Christmas and had not slowed down.

The owner of the business - who chose not to be named - said she had been flat-out, believing it to be a direct result of the cost of meat in supermarkets.

- RNZ