Owner left ‘devastated’ after alpaca Geronimo culled
THE owner of Geronimo the alpaca is “absolutely devastated” after the animal was seized from her farm and culled by government vets, just days before a warrant for his destruction expired.
Around 20 police officers arrived at Helen Macdonald’s farm near Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, along with four staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) dressed in overalls, masks and goggles, at 10.45am yesterday.
Campaigners, who have been camping out at the property for weeks, loudly protested as the alpaca was rounded up and his microchip checked.
Geronimo, who has twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis, was tied with white rope before being pulled through a field and loaded into a waiting trailer.
The trailer left the farm at 11.20am and, by 12.40pm, Defra confirmed that the animal had been euthanised by staff from the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
In a statement, Defra said Geronimo had been culled
“as a necessary measure” to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
A warrant for his destruction was due to expire on September 4.
Ms Macdonald insists that bovine tuberculosis tests previously carried out on him returned false positives, and thousands of members of the public had backed her plea to halt his destruction.
She was not present when Geronimo was removed from her farm but spoke to reporters there shortly afterwards.
“I am absolutely devastated to report that Defra have taken Geronimo away by force this morning,” she said.
“They have refused to inform me where they are taking him. As far as I understand, Geronimo is still alive, all alone in a trailer heading somewhere, absolutely terrified, taken from his herd where he has lived for four years. The Government have refused to engage in good faith.
“We now know they have been stringing us along for the last week, fobbing us off by saying that people were on holiday and would get back to us this week.
“Now we know that they not only ignored our consistent pleas for constructive dialogue, but had no intention of engaging with us.
“In fact, all the time, they were simply planning to murder Geronimo. This is yet another appalling demonstration of bad faith and duplicity by the Secretary of State and everyone at Defra.”
She added she is “absolutely disgusted” with the Government, which she said had used a “falsified test that has no validity” on the alpaca.
In a statement, Defra confirmed that a court warrant had been used to enter the farm to remove Geronimo, who was then euthanised.
It said bovine tuberculosis is one of the “most significant animal health challenges that England faces today” and costs taxpayers more than £100 million each year.
More than 27,000 cattle were slaughtered last year to curb the spread of the infectious disease, it added.
Chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: “This is a terribly sad situation and our sympathies remain with all those affected by this devastating disease.
“No-one wants to have to cull infected animals if it can be avoided, but we need to follow the scientific evidence and cull animals that have tested positive for BTB to minimise spread of this insidious disease and eradicate the biggest threat to animal health in this country.”