First official photoshoot for gay bull as benjy passes passport tests

THE plight of Benjy, the gay Mayo bull, who just doesn’t fancy cows and was therefore destined for the dinner table, has inspired not alone worldwide compassion but a range of memorabilia, writes Tom Shiel.

Those who donate more than £25 (Stg.) to a special fund to have the pedigree animal housed in an animal sanctuary in the UK will be entitled to a Benjy pen, a photograph of Benjy in his new home as well as a certificate proclaiming ‘I Helped Save Benjy the Gay Bull’.

Donations had been pouring into a special fund set up by animal rights group ARAN to pay the farmer involved for the animal as well as raising the price of his travel costs. But the flow of monies dried up last week when US millionaire Sam Simon, the co-creator of The Simpsons, publicly donated €5,000.

This had the effect of drying up donations, with the result that ARAN and Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich, where Benjy will be re-homed, have issued a renewed appeal for contributions. This money will be used for the bull’s aftercare in Norwich when he finally gets to his new home.

Meanwhile, down on Benjy’s farm, where the bull’s owner is steadfastly continuing to remain anonymous despite huge pressure from the media to go public, there have been welcome developments, sadly not of the insemination kind. Benjy has passed his TB and brucellosis tests with flying colours and could be on his way by ferry to the UK by the end of next week.

RTÉ, the national TV station, carried pictures of Benjy on its main 9 p.m. bulletin last week but these were taken on a camera phone by the reporter who initially broke the story for The Connaught Telegraph, Joanna McNicholas. The bull owner was adamant when contacted by RTÉ – no interviews and no on-farm filming on his property as he was determined to remain anonymous.

Benjy took his photoshoot with our photographer, Alison Laredo, in his stride, happy to stand in the background behind one of the other bovine beauties in the herd.