The owner of a executed alpaca blamed Environment minister Say “outright lies” in support of “killing a healthy animal in front of the world.”
Helen Macdonald’s 6-year-old alpaca Geronimo has been ordered to be destroyed after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) twice.
George Eustis It was stated on Thursday that Geronimo had been tested “using highly specific and reliable tests.”
In response to the statement, Ms. MacDonald said: “This is a complete lie and the test has never been verified.
“He still supports this absurd claim because they made a wrong judgment and were caught.
“If he is willing to kill a healthy animal in front of the whole world without properly testing him first, that would be a shame.
“This will be visible to the whole world. Because if he sends a poor man here with a gun to shoot Geronimo, then it will be filmed by the world media.”
A 50-year-old veterinarian and alpaca breeder with a farm in the south Gloucestershire It has been stated that she will “stop any gunman who comes to destroy Geronimo”.
She has repeatedly claimed that the tests performed on male Alpacas born in New Zealand were inaccurate.
Ms. MacDonald added: “They have known since 2016 that if an alpaca is injected with more than two tuberculin injections within 12 months, these tests will produce false positives.
“If George Eustice or the chief veterinarian is unwilling to look at the evidence and accept that the drug will produce a false positive immune response, then they need to look at their position.”
Geronimo performed four skin tests before being exported new Zealand All of these are negative. Subsequently, the animal underwent two blood tests and one skin test in the UK, and the results were both positive.
According to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the test has a false positive rate of 0.36%.
However, no test has been conducted on the accuracy of the alpaca’s test.
All alpacas traveling with Geronimo from New Zealand were tested and all were negative. Geronimo currently lives with five other alpacas. Defra refused to test them.
Ms. MacDonald said: “I didn’t know it would explode like it is now. I am very grateful to all those who supported me, including the British Alpaca Association, animal rights organizations and some celebrities.
Bovine tuberculosis causes destruction and suffering to farmers and rural communities, which is why we need to do everything we can to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
“people I am very upset and angry with the government’s actions.
“This has had a huge impact on the mental health of me and my family because Eustice does not allow samples from Geronimo to be taken to confirm that he does have tuberculosis before they kill an innocent and healthy animal.
“Because I assure you—he didn’t get it. Sadly, they won’t realize it until he is dead and an autopsy is performed on him, and then it’s too late.”
The “Save Geronimo” petition has now collected 80,000 signatures.
A Defra spokesperson said: “We sympathize with Ms. Macdonald’s situation-just like we do to all animals affected by this terrible disease.
“It is for this reason that Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Bureau and its veterinary experts have carefully considered Geronimo’s test results and options, and passed several stages of thorough legal review.
“Bovine tuberculosis causes damage and distress to farmers and rural communities, which is why we need to do everything we can to reduce the risk of disease transmission.”
The online petition to save Geronimo can be found at change.org/p/boris-johnson-save-geronimo-stop-killing-healthy-alpacas-without-valid-science
