Geronimo the alpaca must die, judge rules
Owner who said animal showed no signs of deadly disease loses four-year battle to save its life
An imported alpaca shown to have bovine tuberculosis must be killed, a judge has ruled after a four-year quarantine saga. Geronimo is to be put to sleep after an appeal to have it retested was rejected by the High Court. It tested positive twice after being imported from New Zealand in 2017. But its owner, Helen Macdonald, said there was a high risk that those results were false and that Defra relied on “flawed science” to support the cull, as Geronimo showed no sign of illness.
AN IMPORTED alpaca with tuberculosis must be killed, a judge has ruled after a four-year quarantine saga.
Geronimo is to be slaughtered after an appeal to have it retested was refused by the High Court yesterday.
The stud alpaca tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) twice after being imported from New Zealand in 2017. But its owner, Helen Macdonald, an experienced alpaca breeder and veterinary nurse, said there was a high risk that those results were false.
She claimed that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs relied on “flawed science” to support the cull, as Geronimo had not exhibited any sign of illness and lived longer than an infected alpaca would have done. It also tested negative in New Zealand before landing in the UK.
However, her legal appeal for a retest has now been refused and Defra can legally kill Geronimo if Ms Macdonald does not euthanise him by Aug 5.
It is the first case of its kind to pass through the High Court in London.
Ms Macdonald, 50, said outside court: “I will do right by him and I will have him put to sleep. It will be on his terms, on my terms. He’s had a good life, but he should have had another 10 years.”
Geronimo has been in quarantine with five other alpacas on Ms Macdonald’s farm in Wickwar, near Bristol, since arriving in the UK in August 2017.
It had tested negative for BTB in New Zealand, but when Ms Macdonald agreed to a voluntary test as part of national surveillance of the disease, the result came back positive.
Defra decided to conduct a second test in November 2017, which also came back positive, and Geronimo was earmarked for slaughter. All mammals, including humans, can catch BTB.
Legally, Defra only needs to suspect the disease is present to order the slaughter of animals and limit its spread.
Ms Macdonald called for Geronimo to be retested, but Defra refused. She challenged the refusal in the High Court in 2019, but the decision was upheld.
This second legal defeat marks the end of a painful and costly journey for Ms Macdonald, who has been unable to trade livestock at her farm due to the restrictions in place while Geronimo was quarantining.
Cathryn Mcgahey QC, her barrister, had argued that there was “good reason to believe that Geronimo does not have BTB”, as it had shown “not a whisker of symptoms” since the two positive tests in 2017. However, lawyers for Defra successfully argued that BTB “can take years to progress” and it was “futile” to do a third test after two positives.
Mr Justice Griffiths felt “a great degree of sympathy” for Ms Macdonald, but her “wishes and feelings” do not come before the need to protect against the “serious consequences” of BTB.
The British Alpaca Society is calling for more research into testing for the disease. It said: “It’s frustrating that there are no learning opportunities as to why he is fit and healthy but has a failed test against his name.”
A Defra spokesman said: “We are sympathetic to Ms Macdonald’s situation – just as we are with everyone with animals affected by this terrible disease.
“It is for this reason that the testing results and options for Geronimo have been very carefully considered by Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency and its veterinary experts, as well as passing several stages of thorough legal scrutiny.”
‘I will do right by him and I will have him put to sleep. He’s had a good life, but he should have had another 10 years’