'I've been passionate about animal welfare for some time now. I don't eat meat or dairy anymore'

Nick Kyrgios doesn't believe in eating animals (Photo: Carine06)

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has revealed that he 'doesn't eat meat or dairy anymore' - and it's because he 'doesn't believe in animal suffering'.

The athlete, who recently lost an epic fourth-round Australian Open match to number one seed Rafael Nadal, shared the news in a recent blog post.

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In the post, titled Koala photo that broke my heart, Kyrgios wrote about the bushfires in Australia - which have been predicted to kill a trillion animals - saying seeing animals suffering reinforces his decision not to eat meat and dairy.

'I don't believe in eating animals'

"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," the athlete wrote.

"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."

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'These animals have nowhere to go'

Writing about the devastating impact the fires are having on animals, Kyrgios said he had picked WIRES - the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service – as a charity to support right now. He has shared a fundraiser on his Facebook page, saying he 'believes the sky is the limit for what we can do together'.

"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," the athlete added.

"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."

*The headline of this article was updated on January 28, from 'has gone vegan' to 'has ditched meat and dairy'.