Starmer backs ‘sad’ decision to slaughter death-row alpaca with disputed TB result
AN ALPACA named Geronimo must be put down, according to Sir Keir Starmer, who has said the Government has “no alternative” but to kill the Tb-positive animal.
The Labour leader described the case as “tragic” but agreed with the Government’s stance adding: “I don’t think we can make an exception in this case.” Owners of alpacas mistakenly killed because of tuberculosis testing blun- ders yesterday accused the Government of “burying their heads in the sand” over the problem.
They spoke out after Helen Macdonald, Geronimo’s owner, set up a live webcam monitoring her alpaca’s fate, as it is due to be put down by Sept 4.
The alpaca is awaiting the arrival of an execution team at a farm in Gloucestershire after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (BTB), but its owner has questioned the results. Ms Macdonald believes Geronimo, which remains symptomless four years after diagnosis, produced false positive results because it was primed with an injection of tuberculin.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has refused to carry out further tests and received legal authorisation to kill Geronimo.
On a visit to Stroud yesterday, Sir Keir said: “It’s a really sad situation and you can see why emotions are running very high, but farmers around here and
across Gloucestershire will be familiar with having to lose their animals because of TB. I do actually understand why emotions are so high as they would be with farmers as well who, on a notirregular basis, have to lose animals that are very valuable to them.”
Ms Macdonald yesterday set up a camera above Geronimo’s paddock that will broadcast online around the clock to help supporters keep a watchful eye over the animal.
Two owners whose alpacas were put down on Defra’s orders after testing positive for BTB have told The Daily Telegraph that post-mortem examinations revealed neither was infected.
Nigel Retallack lost an alpaca called Arthur just months ago after his herd was tested because of a BTB outbreak in a nearby cow field.
Knowing of Geronimo’s case, which has rumbled on since 2017, Mr Retallack believed the tuberculin shot had distorted Arthur’s results but Defra refused to have the animal tested again.
It was only when a post-mortem examination took place that it was found Arthur was not infected.
Accusing Defra of “burying their head in the sand” with their unwillingness to communicate over the false positives, he said: “They should have allowed a re-test; it’s just so stupid.”
Another owner lost a two-year-old stud alpaca primed with tuberculin but once again a post-mortem examination showed it did not have BTB.
Defra has defended the accuracy of the tests for BTB and said it is “not correct” to suggest that tuberculin can induce a false positive response.