Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has been off dairy and meat as he can’t bear to see animals being tortured in the name of food.

He may be branded “the bad boy” of tennis, but Nick Kyrgios can’t see himself eating meat and dairy. In fact, after witnessing distressing images of the currently raging Australian bushfires that have killed over a trillion animals since September, he states he is happy to have made the switch.

Describing the situation in his blog post, titled Koala photo that broke my heart, he writes:

“It’s been reported that the bushfires have burnt through something like 10 million hectares of land. That’s far more than the recent California and Amazon fires combined, and the fires are so big that they are apparently creating their own weather systems. It’s beyond comprehension.

“If the fires continue to burn like they have, you can only imagine the statistics we’ll see at the end of the summer. We’ve already lost half a billion animals, with almost two months of summer still ahead of us.

“With their homes on fire, these animals have nowhere to go. I saw a photo of a koala sitting on a patch of unburnt grass recently, with flames all around it. It was completely helpless.

“The saddest part is that many threatened species have been caught up in this tragedy. For some, we could be seeing their last days before they are gone forever.”

In order to help the victims, Kyrgios is supporting WIRES – the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service, who, according to him are “doing an incredible job going in there to help injured, displaced and distressed animals.”

 “It’s important that we support them, because they don’t currently have the resources to cope with the enormous task in front of them,” he added.

The athlete has shared a fundraiser on Facebook for more people to partake in the noble cause.

 ‘Passionate about animal welfare’ 

Kyrgios shares that animal welfare has been one of the main reasons he went vegan a couple of years ago and tragic instances like the Australian Bushfires strengthen his resolve in following the vegan lifestyle.

 “I’ve been passionate about animal welfare for some time now. I don’t eat meat or dairy anymore. That’s not for my health, I just don’t believe in eating animals,” he shared in his blogpost.

“I tried a vegan diet a couple of years ago but with all the travel I do, it was hard to stick to it. Since then I’ve managed to make it work, and I’ve been vegetarian for quite a while.

“Seeing the footage of these animals suffering with the fires only reinforces why I’ve chosen this diet. When I see these terrible photos, I can’t comprehend eating meat.”

Top vegan tennis players

Kyrgios is not the only pro-vegan athlete in tennis. Other stalwarts who thrive on the power of plants include Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams, Martina Navratilova, Vicki Cosio, and Peter Budwash.

16 Grand Slam singles title winner Novak Djokovic has been a vegan for several years and believes switching to a plant-based diet has improved his game tremendously.

“I do eat plant-based. I think that’s one of the reasons why I recover well. I don’t have allergies that I used to have any more,” he said.

In 2016, he launched his new vegan restaurant called Eqvita Restaurant to further his passion in eating healthy and delicious plant-based meals.

• Read: Joaquin Phoenix heads straight to Pig Vigil post SAG award win

What do you think of Nick Kyrgios’s efforts towards animal welfare? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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