Bars and bottle shops around New Zealand are boycotting Eagle Brewing NZ from Kaiapoi, a small town north of Christchurch, New Zealand after its co-owner and head brewer David Gaughan posted some racist statements. In a widely circulated post on a Facebook comment section of a story from a news website about a firearms incident near a primary school, Gaughan called Māori, the indigenous Polynesian people of the country, "the scourge of New Zealand". He went on saying “The quicker we put them in prison the better. I'm talking about the majority of the male population. The ones who beat their missis. Who don't give a f..k about society.”
The comments which have been deleted in the meantime sparked outrage and have been strongly condemned in the craft beer industry as racist and deplorable. Many customers and business partners immediately distanced themselves from the statements and said that they no longer wanted to carry and sell the products of the Eagle Brewery.
Gaughan has since apologized, saying he was considering stepping down from running the brewery. He said, he will be meeting with lawyers next week to discuss his future in the company, acknowledging it may take his resignation for trust to be regained.
In a statement, Gaughan said: "I want to apologise unreservedly for making the comment, and for the large amount of hurt and anger it has caused, and rightly so.
"The comment was made as a result of deep seated issues I have within myself about growing up with family violence and seeing it affect people I love. This in no way justifies what I said.
"I have come to understand that I need to look inside at the changes I can make to unlearn and relearn, so I can gain a better cultural understanding in the place that I feel privileged to call my home."
