World seems bright and gay for Benjy the bull

DUBLIN: An Irish bull destined for the slaughterhouse because he appeared to be gay had been saved after a campaign supported by the co-creator of The Simpsons, animal activists said yesterday.

Benjy’s failure to inseminate even one of a herd of cows in which he was mixing rendered him useless on his County Mayo farm, and the farmer decided to send him to the abattoir.

But after a story in the local newspaper and a campaign picked up by animal rights groups and a gay magazine, the Charolais-breed bull can now look forward to ending his years in an English animal sanctuary.

More than 250 people donated money to buy Benjy from the farmer. Among them was Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpsons, whose £5 000 (R86 300) donation proved decisive.

“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,” said Simon.

The producer, who has terminal cancer, said he was pleased to help “make Benjy’s fate a sanctuary rather than a sandwich”, according to a statement issued by animal rights group Peta.

Peta worked with Ireland’s Animal Rights Action Network (Aran) and gay website The-GayUK, who set up a crowdfunding website and campaign to save Benjy on social media.

“What could be better than to present Benjy with a Christmas gift that will literally last a lifetime,” said Aran spokesman John Carmody.