Dying The Simpsons creator saves Benjy the gay bull

There’s good news for Benjy the gay bull. The co-creator of The Simpsons has stepped in to save him after he faced being slaughtered because of his sexual orientation.

Sam Simon, who is suffering from terminal cancer, has donated the £5,000 required to buy the pedigree Charolais bull so that he can live out his life at the Hillside Animal Sanctuary.

Benjy’s owner, an Irish farmer, claimed he had no choice but to send him to the slaughter house because the bull was not interested in breeding with cows and was instead more romantically interested in fellow bulls.

Homosexuality in nature is widely observed and same-sex attraction is noted in over 1,500 species.

“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”, said Simon, a long-time vegan and animal rights supporter, on the PETA website.

“It thrills me to help PETA and ARAN make Benjy’s fate a sanctuary rather than a sandwich.”

In addition to the money pledged by Simon, around 250 other people have contributed to a crowd funding initiative to help Benjy, set up by Irish animal-protection group ARAN and TheGayUK.com.

While Benjy is expected to be moved to his new home before Christmas, the campaign’s founders have urged the public to continue to donate in order to cover the long-term cost of housing and feeding him.

Simon, together with Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, developed The Simpsons in 1989. The 59-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and has said that he will leave his $100m fortune to charity when he dies.