My tortoise hell
Supervet Noel: I felt suicidal after complaints over animal’s treatment
IRISH supervet Noel Fitzpatrick has revealed he was “suicidal” after being accused of malpractice over his treatment of a tortoise.
The Irish telly vet, 53, fitted three bionic limbs to a tortoise called Hermes to replace those chewed off by rats while it was hibernating.
But, according to the star of Channel 4’s The Supervet, the animal died two months later from a suspected gastroenteric issue.
A number of vets complained to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a result leading to a time of turmoil for the Tipperary-born vet.
Speaking on BBC’S Desert Island Discs yesterday, Noel, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, said he now feels no “acrimony” towards the group.
He said: “What was going through my head was, ‘Is it ethical to try and save this animal’s life even if it is possible?’
“Just because something is possible doesn’t make it the right thing to do. Having taken all that advice and gone through dozens of hours of planning, we set out to take off the infected portions of the limbs.
“Subsequently we did implant three bionic limbs... which were actually working very well when unfortunately Hermes had a probable gastroenteric problem and died.
“But that was well after what I had done. We were very transparent about that on the show.”
Reflecting on the case, Noel, who last year fell down the stairs and broke his neck, added: “I was suicidal. That’s the nuts and bolts of it.”
He said his accident made him reevaluate life and stop taking people for granted. His musical choices included One by U2, Love Of My Life by Queen and Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin.
Desert Island Discs will be broadcast at 11am today.