Good news for Benjy the bull! After being bought for breeding purposes by a farmer in County Mayo, Ireland, it quickly became obvious that the pedigree Charolais bull was more interested in his mates than in producing babies with female cattle.
“At first I didn’t take seriously that the bull could be gay, but after seeking advice I know this can happen,” the farmer said. “The bull is now too old to castrate and turn into a bullock, so I will keep him for the factory.”
Benjy’s story caught the attention of Ireland’s Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and GayUK, which all joined forces to start a crowd-funding campaign to raise enough money so that Benjy could live out the rest of his life at Hillside Animal Sanctuary.
One of the donors was Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpsons, who said in a statement, “It thrills me to help PETA and ARAN make Benjy’s fate a sanctuary rather than a sandwich. PETA told me about Benjy, and I felt compelled to help. All animals have a dire destiny in the meat trade, but to kill this bull because he’s gay would’ve been a double tragedy.”
Why you can trust Xtra
