GERONIMO: TB OR NOT TB?
POST-MORTEM SHOWED NO SIGN OF DISEASE SAYS OWNER... BUT VET REVEALS TELL-TALE LESIONS WERE FOUND
THE heartbroken owner of Geronimo the alpaca – put down by government vets over fears of tuberculosis – claims a post-mortem examination proves he did not have the deadly disease.
Farmer Helen Macdonald, who fought a long legal battle to stop his killing, called for environment secretary George Eustice (pictured) to step down.
Her lawyers said preliminary findings were ‘negative for visible lesions typical of bovine tuberculosis’.
‘There are no white or cream caseous, enlarged abscesses typical for bovine TB in alpacas, whether in the lungs, bronchial, mediastinal or retropharyngeal lymph nodes,’ they added.
Ms Macdonald told crowds of protesters at a rally outside the department for rural affairs’ London HQ yesterday: ‘We call on the secretary of state to tender his resignation immediately.’ But chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss hit back, saying officials still suspected the alpaca was infected. ‘A number of TB-like lesions were found and in line with standard practice these are now undergoing further investigation,’ she insisted. ‘These tests include the developing of bacteriological cultures from tissue samples which usually takes several months. We would expect to complete the full post-mortem and culture process by the end of the year.’ Geronimo was forcibly removed from Ms Macdonald’s farm at Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, on August 31 by police and vets in protective gear while campaigners tearfully pleaded for mercy. She told yesterday’s rally: ‘Geronimo was a blessing in my life. He touched the world. He was loved and precious to very many people and he lives on.
‘I miss him. But I will do him the honour of fighting for him and making sure his legacy lives on for all animals.’
Her lawyers added Ms Macdonald had requested ‘full findings’ of the post-mortem and that samples were kept for independent analysis in future.