Goodbye benjy

It's bye, bye, Benjy, as Mayo's gay bull hits for England this weekend.

A cheque to his owner has been handed over and Benjy, who was saved from the butcher’s block, will be on his way this Saturday to the safety of an animal sanctuary in England, writes Joanna McNicholas.

As has been well documented, the pedigree Charolais was unwilling to mate with any of the cows on an east Mayo farm. A replacement bull was brought in and it was decided to fatten Benjy up for slaughter. However, the animal rights group ARAN, on hearing of the animal’s plight, raised funds to pay the farmer involved for the animal as well as raising the price of his travel costs.

The east Mayo farmer who owns Benjy is delighted that the animal is heading for a sanctuary where it can live out its natural life rather than the slaughterhouse.
He is also happy with the price agreed upon with ARAN and has confirmed that payment for the animal has already arrived in his bank account.

It’s expected that Benjy will begin his journey to a new life in Norwich on Saturday.