Jeremy Clarkson has had to send a beloved farm animal to an abattoir (Picture: Amazon/ Everett/ REX/
Shutterstock)
Jeremy Clarkson has been left devastated after revealing he had to send beloved cow Pepper to an abattoir.
The former Top Gear star, 63, swapped fast cars for farming in recent years, with cameras following his efforts after purchasing land in the Cotswolds and establishing his Diddly Squat farm.
Over the past few years Jeremy has faced plenty of challenges, including heartbreak when facing the loss of some of his animals.
However, he’s now shared that one cow he once vowed to save to let her continue to enjoy greener pastures has sadly been killed.
On the second season of the series, Jeremy took a shine to Pepper after being asked to care for her by Rosie, the five-year-old daughter of her previous owner, a cattle breeder.
But this season he shares he was unable to keep his word.
He previously said he would look after Pepper the cow (Picture: Diddly Squat Farm Shop)
‘This is my pet. Five-year-old Rosie, from the farm we bought her from, said this cow was her favourite,’ he said on one of the previous episodes.
‘She asked: “Would you look after Pepper for me?” So I said I would.’
Later in the season, when a vet concluded Pepper was not pregnant, someone suggested she be sent for meat, but Jeremy snapped back: ‘I’m not eating Pepper, and that’s the end of it.’
Pepper was purchased from a cattle breeder in the Cotswolds (Picture: Prime Video)
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But in the upcoming third season, which hits screens this week, he has to make the tough decision to get rid of her as he and farm manager Kaleb Cooper decide to rear pigs, meaning half of his cows including Pepper have to be taken away.
Sharing his emotions of Pepper being killed, he says: ‘I’m finding today really quite sad.
‘Pepper is going, obviously — what do you think will become of her?’
Jeremy faces the loss of several animals this season (Picture: Amazon Prime Video)
He then faces more heartache when many of the pigs he purchased also start dying, leaving Jeremy and partner Lisa Hogan in tears.
During a recent press event for the series, Jeremy recalled how they died ‘in alarming numbers’.
‘It was very heart-breaking, I’d never ever seen Lisa, not once ever, until that all started,’ he said.
‘It was just terrible. I mean they still die, but we’re getting more used to it now, we’re a bit more robust.’
He added they were now ‘a bit stronger at dealing with it now’.
Clarkson’s Farm season 3 launches on Friday on Amazon Prime Video.
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