Bayern Munich star, Thomas Muller and his wife Lisa, a horse trainer, have been accused of animal cruelty by animal rights group PETA.
The German international and his wife were accused by PETA of “unnatural sex acts” in their sale of frozen horse semen, for which they charge £170 per dose.
The allegations came after the Muller’s horse D’Avie – who the family bought in August 2020 – sustained an injury ahead of breeding season with the animal rights group claiming that their practice was unnatural.
Muller regularly attends dressage events in which his wife Lisa competes with their stable housing three horses including D’Avie alongside Four Roses and Bowmore, whose frozen sperm is also sold.
Yet an injury sustained to D’Avie has now led to accusations that this represents animal cruelty as it is not natural for the horses.
The comments came after Muller revealed news of D’Avie’s injury: “Sadly we have bad news. Our favourite D’Avie will not be available in the next months.
“Unfortunately he slipped during a test attempt to prepare for the breeding season, and dramatically fell on his side.
“He suffered an injury in the hoof area, and will need to rest completely for the next few months.
“He’s a tough lad, and it could have been worse.”
That led to PETA spokesperson Jana Hoger speaking out against Muller’s update and accusing him and his wife of engaging in an unnatural act.
“It is awful that self-styled horse lovers force the animals in their care into unnatural sex acts in order to make the maximum profit from them.
“The injuries that D’Avie suffered under Lisa and Thomas Muller’s supervision were avoidable and unnecessary.”
Muller has previously spoken about his love of horses and how he enjoys spending his free time with them.
He has previously stated: “I come here to watch if everything’s fine. And for the carrots. I’m the managing director of carrots! I watch the dogs. Sometimes I help a little bit but it’s her (my wife’s) business.
“I enjoy it a lot. They make me feel comfortable, the attitude and what they look like and (the way they) live their lives.
“It’s fun. It’s easy to relax around horses.”
This is coming after West Ham’s Kurt Zouma came under fire after a video of the Frenchman abusing his pet cat went viral last week.
The French defender was condemned by his club, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, RSPCA, and other animal welfare groups on Tuesday after a video emerged of him dropping, kicking, and slapping his pet cat.
The centre-back featured for West Ham against Watford and was also named in the starting lineup against Leicester but had to withdraw from the latter fixture due to illness.
Zouma was hit with the maximum fine of two weeks’ wages by his club – £250,000, which will be donated to animal welfare charities.