First, it was rodents in supermarkets in the South Island; now, it's pigeons snacking in the North - what is going on with animals running loose in NZ stores?
Today, Woolworths Grey Lynn is using bird mist and netting to keep hungry flappers away after a food safety complaint was made.
Another Auckland shopper has shared snaps of a pigeon helping itself to the nut dispenser at the Milford store on Feb 1st.
SOURCE: via NZ Herald
This comes after a South Dunedin supermarket was spotted hosting some unusual undercover furry staff members back in November.
Two rats were snapped hanging out in the chilled food section.
This wasn't the only instance of a rodent going rogue. This week a lone mouse was seen scouting out its next feed in a West Auckland Pak 'n Save.
SOURCE: Daxiaoxiong/r/NewZealand on Reddit
And to top it all off, footage shows a pigeon pecking at a hot dish at a Wellington takeaway spot on Manners Street.
Honestly, can we give Snow White a shout or something? Sis needs to communicate with these animals and tell them to respectfully bugger off.
While it was a bit of a laugh at the start, with many Kiwis poking fun at the sightings, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle is concerned about the risks these fury and feathered pals could have on us.
"Pests such as birds, including pigeons, can be carriers of bugs/germs such as E.coli or Salmonella, that can make people sick," Arbuckle told Stuff.
"Pests can also contaminate our food with foreign matter such as hair, fur, droppings/urine, eggs and dead bodies."
So, what are Kiwi supermarkets doing about it?
Aside from the mist and nets, they are assuring customers that the issue is being dealt with.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told NZ Herald: "We have pest management plans in place in all of our stores. We contract Rentokil as part of this management plan."
Look, I know we've gotta get rid of the little fellas for the safety of our food shops, but I just can't get over how cute they are...