In less than a week, a case of animal abuse in European football is uncovered again. After the scandal caused by the French Kurt Zuma with his cat, now the German Thomas Müller would have been denounced not only for violence, but also for selling the semen of his horses.
The Bayern midfielder and his wife, Lisa Trade, run a farm in Germany. However, one of the horses was injured while being prepared for the breeding season.
“Unfortunately, we have bad news: our favourite, D’Avie, will not be available for the next few months. He slipped during an attempt to get him ready for breeding season, and fell dramatically to the side. He had a head injury and will need to rest for the next few months. He is a tough boy, and it could have been worse”, acknowledged Müller himself.
In this sense, the British newspaper The Sun reports that Frozen horse semen is being marketed on the farm for a price of around 200 euros ($227 dollars) for each dose.
Does Müller mistreat his horses?
Shortly after this story broke, PETA’s response appeared, one of the most important animal rights organizations in the world.
“The injuries suffered by D’Avie, under the supervision of Lisa and Thomas Müller, were preventable and unnecessary,” said Jana Hoger, spokesperson for the agency. “It is horrible that self-proclaimed horse lovers force animals, in their care, to perform unnatural sexual acts in order to gain maximum benefit from them,” she insisted.
The world champion has not commented on the matter. However, in an interview that he gave to this medium in 2020, he acknowledged that he is not an expert on animals.
“I take care of the dogs. Sometimes I help out a bit, but that’s his business (referring to his wife Lisa). I enjoy very much. They make me feel comfortable, the attitude and how they look and (the way they) live their lives. It’s fun. It’s easy to relax around horses,” he said at the time.