Geronimo’s post-mortem pantomime
Defra says alpaca test shows ‘signs of TB’. Protesters say ‘Oh no it doesn’t!’
eVeN in death, Geronimo the alpaca was at the centre of a bitter war of words last night.
his owner helen Macdonald claimed a post-mortem on the pet, put down last week after she lost a four-year battle with officialdom, had found no tell-tale signs of bovine tuberculosis
But the Government insisted its vets had found ‘TB-like lesions’ in early tests, but full results would take months. Supporters of Miss Macdonald accused the farming ministry Defra of a ‘cynical spin campaign’.
Geronimo was culled over disputed
‘Unnecessary distress’
claims he harboured bovine TB. Defra staff, escorted by police, dragged him from Miss Macdonald’s farm near Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, to be euthanised nine days ago.
Geronimo had twice tested positive for bTB in 2017 and Miss Macdonald lost a long legal fight to prevent him being destroyed.
her attempts to have a witness at the post-mortem were rebuffed. She has now requested the full findings of the report and results of additional tests. Lawyers for Miss Macdonald said yesterday that government vets had so far made ‘negative’ findings of bTB – a claim denied by Defra.
In a statement, the Government’s chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss said: ‘We have completed the initial post-mortem examination of Geronimo.
‘A number of TB-like lesions were found and in line with standard practice these are now undergoing further investigation.
These tests include the developing of bacteriological cultures from tissue samples which usually takes several months – we would expect to complete the full postmortem and culture process by the end of the year.’
Defra initially declined to say where the suspect lesions were detected, only later indicating none had been found in the lungs – the typical location for bTB infection. Instead, they said vets had found them in the liver and lymph nodes.
Vets Dr Iain McGill and Dr Bob Broadbent, who are Geronimo supporters and reviewed the correspondence sent to Miss Macdonald, said the animal appeared ‘negative for visible lesions typical of bovine tuberculosis’. Miss Macdonald’s lawyers said: ‘For clarity there are no white or cream caseous, enlarged abscesses typical for bTB in alpacas.’
They added: ‘Miss Macdonald and her supporters remain deeply concerned about the standards of integrity and transparency adopted by Defra throughout this four-year ordeal and the manner in which the execution and the postmortem have been conducted.
‘They urge the Government to act with compassion and cooperation, which to date has been severely lacking, creating deep and unnecessary distress to Geronimo, Miss Macdonald and her many supporters.’
Miss Macdonald promised to continue her campaign against what she says are unreliable tests for the disease – and called for environment Secretary George eustice to resign.
At a protest at Defra hQ in London against both the treatment of Geronimo and continuation of the controversial badger cull, she said: ‘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. Badgers are shot to prevent the spread of TB to cows although an independent scientific review in 2018 by Sir Charles Godfray said that the effect on controlling the disease was modest.’
This year the Government has approved only seven new badger cull licences this year, compared with 11 last year.
But animal welfare groups say more than 60,000 badgers could still be culled in 2021, which would bring the total slaughtered since 2013 to more than 200,000.
The Born Free Foundation said: ‘To continue with the mass slaughter of badgers in one of the most nature-depleted nations on earth is a national disgrace.
‘It’s time to stop playing the badger blame game and focus on controlling the spread of bovine TB in cattle.’
‘Making sure his legacy lives on’