Rounding up of Geronimo to be killed was disgraceful and abhorrent, say alpaca experts
THE way in which Geronimo was dragged from his pen and bundled into the back of horse box to be driven away and killed by Government vets has been condemned as disgraceful and abhorrent by alpaca experts.
Police officers and staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) arrived at Helen Macdonald’s farm near Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, on Tuesday morning.
Campaigners, who had been camped out at the property for weeks, loudly protested as the Defra staff, wearing overalls, masks and goggles, rounded up the alpaca in his enclosure.
Geronimo, who had twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis, was tied with white rope before being scanned for a microchip
then pulled through a field to a waiting trailer.
Less than 90 minutes after leaving the property, Defra confirmed the animal had been euthanised by staff from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), executing a court warrant that was due to expire on September 4.
Sue Loach, chair of the British Alpaca Society, has written a letter of complaint to officials from Defra and Apha, as well as sending copies to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Environment Secretary George Eustice.
They are demanding those responsible for Tuesday’s operation be suspended and a formal investigation launched.
The society represents 2,000 members in the UK and is responsible for maintaining the records of the 40,000 registered alpacas.
Ms Loach described the treatment of Geronimo as disgraceful and abhorrent and said vets had a duty of care to Geronimo to ensure he was handled and euthanised with a minimum of distress, neither of which they achieved.
She added: “The lack of knowledge as to the correct way to handle alpacas was startling and totally inexcusable, dragging him kicking and screaming on to a trailer then tying him up with a poorly fitted cattle halter.
“He was screaming his distress call as he was brutally loaded which is evidence of how terrified he was – in front of the world’s media.”