diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 642ccd4491..0d62a11562 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -552,6 +552,7 @@ m4 = find_program('m4')
 stat = find_program('stat')
 git = find_program('git', required : false)
 env = find_program('env')
+perl = find_program('perl', required : false)
 
 meson_make_symlink = meson.source_root() + '/tools/meson-make-symlink.sh'
 mkdir_p = 'mkdir -p $DESTDIR/@0@'
diff --git a/test/meson.build b/test/meson.build
index 99103e9570..809bd44a93 100644
--- a/test/meson.build
+++ b/test/meson.build
@@ -233,9 +233,13 @@ custom_target(
         output : 'sys',
         build_by_default : true)
 
-udev_test_pl = find_program('udev-test.pl')
-test('udev-test',
-     udev_test_pl)
+if perl.found()
+        udev_test_pl = find_program('udev-test.pl')
+        test('udev-test',
+             udev_test_pl)
+else
+        message('Skipping udev-test because perl is not available')
+endif
 
 if conf.get('ENABLE_HWDB') == 1
         hwdb_test_sh = find_program('hwdb-test.sh')