Vegan Jason 'Dizzy' Gillespie, Yorkshire County Cricket Club bowler, has said he wants the dairy industry shut down, angering one of his county's major sponsors.
'Dizzy' told The Yorkshire Post: "There's no justification. These slaughterhouses, dairies and piggeries, zoos.
"It's cruel and it's speciesism [the idea that humans have greater moral rights than animals] at its very worst and I don't want to be part of it. Hopefully one day the dairy industry can be shut down.
"I think it's disgusting and wrong on so many levels. Slaughterhouses too.
"Nobody's been able to explain that to me. How is killing humane?"
Asked about Wensleydale Creamery's sponsorship, he said: "Yes, they are a sponsor but it doesn't mean I agree with what they do.
"It's out of my control, just like the fact that cricket balls are made of leather.
"I'll have it out with people, I don't care. There's nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in."
Sandra Bell, marketing manager of Wensleydale Creamery, responded by saying Gillespie had never raised any objection with the company over its sponsorship.
"That's a very bold statement and I need to understand a bit more about what he's actually trying to say there," she said.
"We are very proud sponsors. Our milk comes from over 40 local farms with very high standards of welfare."
