Melbourne residents called ‘animals’ as panic buying takes over

A Melbourne resident has slammed hoarding shoppers after witnessing one woman buying 10 packets of lamb, leaving nothing for others.

A Melbourne resident has blasted “animal” shoppers who stripped the meat section at three supermarkets he visited while attempting to buy meat last night.

Samuel Levi appeared on the New Zealand version of Married At First Sight and now lives in Melbourne.

The city is now under stage 4 restrictions because of coronavirus, meaning residents must not travel more than 5km from their home and obey a curfew of 8pm to 5am unless they have a permit.

The restrictions have triggered a fresh wave of panic buying, with meat proving the most in-demand amid fears reduced operating hours at meatworks will see a supply shortage.

Levi last night took to Instagram to complain after attempting to buy meat at three different supermarkets, only to come up empty-handed.

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Samuel Levi posted a photo of empty shelves at his local Coles.

Levi said the situation was incredibly frustrating.

He shared a video of one Coles meat section that was completely bare, slamming the “animals” who had stripped the shelves.

“Third supermarket in the space of 45 minutes in my 5km zone. Each one just like this. Like really people,” Levi wrote.

“No need for this stuff to be happening..... Welcome to the next 6 weeks. No wonder why people will be leaving their zones.”

Levi continued to vent his annoyance on his Instagram Story, describing it as the “most frustrating thing ever” as not only were all the supermarkets near him out of meat, but he had to be home before curfew.

“I’m going to become a bloody vegan at the end of this because I literally can’t get any meat,” he said.

“I literally saw a lady – no sh*t – with 10 packs of lamb chops.

“I wanted to scoop my fingers in there and f***ing grab one – like are you serious?

“You bloody animal. Like 10 packets of lamb chops? Who the hell are you bloody feeding?”

Levi wasn’t the only one frustrated at shoppers, with plenty of others taking to Twitter to complain about the shortages overnight:

Same here inner east of Melbourne. Makes me furious. Spoke with manager of a major Supermarket who said they were not ready for these restrictions with supply chain already at stretch. Said it will be days before they get decent supply of meat.

— @Advance Australia (@Advance_Aust1) August 4, 2020

Liked this reflection today from a supermarket worker in Melbourne after a hard day: “to the people asking in a panic when we're getting more meat, tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. Please buy responsibly.” Here here!

— Dan Vanden Boom (@vanden_dan) August 4, 2020

Even in Albury, noticed meat shelves were running lower than normal, whether it is to do with more stock being diverted to Melbourne, or the Neurotic panic buying again, and we don't even have any lockdown restrictions.

— Darren Plane (@DarrenPlane) August 4, 2020

In response, Coles has imposed a two pack per customer limit in Metro Melbourne on mince, chicken breast and chicken thighs.

In Woolworths there are even stricter restrictions, with two pack per customer limits on pork, lamb, beef and chicken, as well as a 1kg limit on meat, small goods and poultry from the butcher and deli sections across all of Victoria.

A shelf in a Coles supermarket in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds after recent panic buying on Monday. Picture: Ian Currie/NCA NewsWire

A shelf in a Woolworths supermarket in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds on Monday. Picture: Ian Currie/NCA NewsWire

A Coles spokeswoman told news.com.au on Tuesday, “We are continuing to work with our suppliers and where necessary, we have made alternative sourcing arrangements so we can continue to provide the food and groceries our customers need.”

Woolworths said they were “confident” they would be able to maintain their supply of meat to Victorian stores.

“We’re working through the implications of the Victorian Government’s announcements with our key suppliers,” a spokesman told news.com.au yesterday.

“We’re confident we’ll be able to maintain a good supply of fresh meat for our Victorian customers.

“We’ll monitor the impact closely as the new restrictions come into effect later this week.”