Gus Kenworthy and his boyfriend have rescued this puppy from a South Korean dog meat farm
Gus Kenworthy and Matthew Wilkas with Beemo, who passed away in May. (Instagram/guskenworthy)
Gus Kenworthy has added to his growing status as one of our favourite-ever Olympians by adopting a dog from a South Korean dog meat farm.
The silver medal-winning freestyle skier had already won hearts by throwing some excellent shade at Ivanka Trump.
And the Team USA athlete’s kiss with his actor boyfriend Matthew Wilkas on live TV drew acclaim and celebration from far and wide.
(Twitter/90sKidMutant)
Kenworthy also vowed to reject any invitation to visit President Donald Trump’s White House after the Games, and criticised the choice of anti-LGBT Vice President Mike Pence to lead the US delegation in Pyeongchang.
The out gay US athlete has now stood up for another cause close to his heart.
Writing on Instagram, Kenworthy said: “This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea.
(Instagram/guskenworthy)
“Across the country there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable. Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture.
“And, while don’t personally agree with it, I do agree that it’s not my place to impose western ideals on the people here.
“The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty,” he added.
“I was told that the dogs on this particular farm were kept in “good conditions” by comparison to other farms.”
The Olympian proceeded to describe the terrible conditions which the dogs were kept in.
“The dogs here are malnourished and physically abused, crammed into tiny wire-floored pens, and exposed to the freezing winter elements and scorching summer conditions,” he wrote.
(Instagram/guskenworthy)
“When it comes time to put one down it is done so in front of the other dogs by means of electrocution sometimes taking up to 20 agonising minutes.
“Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home. Some of them were even pets at one time and were stolen or found and sold into the dog meat trade.
“Luckily, this particular farm (thanks to the hard work of the Humane Society International and the cooperation of a farmer who’s seen the error of his ways) is being permanently shut down and all 90 of the dogs here will be brought to the US and Canada where they’ll find their fur-ever homes.”
(Instagram/guskenworthy)
And, Kenworthy added, he was set to become one of those lucky new dog owners.
“I adopted the sweet baby in the first pic (we named her Beemo) and she’ll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she’s through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks.
“I cannot wait to give her the best life possible! There are still millions of dogs here in need of help though (like the Great Pyrenees in the 2nd pic who was truly the sweetest dog ever).
(Instagram/adaripp)
“I’m hoping to use this visit as an opportunity to raise awareness to the inhumanity of the dog meat trade and the plight of dogs everywhere, including back home in the US where millions of dogs are in need of loving homes!”
He ended the post with the hashtags “#dogsarefriendsnotfood” and “#adoptdontshop ❤️ “.
Beemo is a lucky puppy.
