New Zealand First MP Mark Patterson has criticized vegan activists who protested at the Countdown St. Luke’s supermarket in Auckland. The protesters stood in front of the meat section and demanded shoppers stop eating meat.
Mr Patterson was not pleased by what he saw, tweeting: “What's the world coming to, good law-abiding meat-eaters being harassed by an iron-deficient mob”.
The MP elaborated on his Twitter comment to Newshub, saying: “I absolutely support their right to protest but this appeared to be deploying totally uncalled for intimidation of innocent shoppers”.
Mr Patterson said he doesn't have a problem with vegans in general, but he doesn't like people trying to aggressively impose their beliefs on others. He believed people should be able to purchase meat without facing harassment.
The protesters were asked by supermarket staff to leave but ignored the request multiple times, hence the police had to be called.
Will you be preventing the millions being spent on lobbying, advertising and schmoozing by the meat lobby. Will you support stopping them imposing their beliefs on the rest of the populace by dumping their waste into the waterways, ensuring the rest of us can’t swim in them?
I look forward to reading your policy manifesto on these issues.