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Geronimo (alpaca)

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Geronimo
Speciesalpaca (Lama pacos)
BreedHuacaya alpaca
SexMale
Born6 February 2013
Ruapehu District, New Zealand
Died31 August 2021(2021-08-31) (aged 8)
United Kingdom
Known forBovine tuberculosis controversy
OwnerHelen Macdonald
Parent(s)Canchones Ferragamo ET
Chelamar Gypsy Lass

Geronimo (6 February 2013 – 31 August 2021) was a stud alpaca that resided at Shepherds Close Farm in Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, England. After Geronimo tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a highly publicised controversy erupted surrounding his fate and the British government's policy of euthanising any animal that tested positive for bTB. After a number of court battles, Geronimo was euthanised.

Background

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Born on 6 February 2013,[1] Geronimo was a male Huacaya alpaca raised at Nevalea Alpacas, New Zealand's largest alpaca farm located near Taumarunui, Manawatū-Whanganui.[2] His parents were Canchones Ferragamo ET and Chelamar Gypsy Lass.[1]

In mid-2017, Geronimo was sold to Helen Macdonald who imported him to the United Kingdom in August 2017.[2][3] Prior to departing New Zealand, Geronimo underwent four skin tests for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) which returned negative results.[4] He was kept in quarantine at Shepherds Close Farm in Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, from when he arrived in the UK.[5] He later tested positive in two tests – two blood tests (enferplex) – administered in the UK.[6][7] However, Iain McGill, a vet and TB researcher, said Geronimo was twice "primed" – or micro-vaccinated – before being tested for TB, which caused him to have high levels of antibodies, which in turn caused false-positive results. Moreover, Iain McGill asserts that the case could highlight large numbers of false-positive tests in cattle, and accused the government of "trying to kill its way out of trouble".[8] As a result of the positive tests, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ordered the destruction of the animal to prevent spread of the disease.[5] Macdonald has disputed the accuracy of the UK-administered tests.[5]

Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss described the chances of a false-positive as "significantly less than 1 percent".[9] Full Fact described claims that bovine tuberculosis blood tests can give a false positive result if the animal has previously been tested with a skin test as "very unlikely".[10]

Reactions

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The Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said in reference to Geronimo's case that "farmers understand that infected animals are a risk to the remainder of their herd, so while the loss of individual animals is always a tragedy, the farming communities have worked with our government vets in this arduous but necessary endeavour".[11] The official spokesman for the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said that "The Environment Secretary has looked at this case very carefully, multiple times over the last few years, and has interrogated all the evidence with expert vets alongside the Animal and Plant Health Agency. But, sadly, Geronimo has tested positive twice for TB using highly specific, reliable and validated tests".[12]

Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, supported Geromino's euthanisation, saying he did not "think we can make an exception" with regards to Geronimo's case and that "there's no alternative, sadly. I do actually understand why emotions are so high as they would be with farmers as well who, on a not-irregular basis, have to lose animals that are very valuable to them".[13]

The Chair of NFU Cymru Milk Board, Abi Reader, said in a video posted on Twitter that the tests "aren't perfect... but they are all we have. There's nothing else out there and you cannot keep testing until you find the negative result you want". Reader has personally lost 10 percent of her herd.[14]

An open letter by a group of senior members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) expressed "grave concerns" over the British Government's handling of Geronimo's case. Thirteen members of the RCVS, and one former member, have co-authored an open letter that casts doubt on Defra's approach to handling bTB. They concluded that Geronimo's diagnosis is unsafe, and urged Eustice and his team to enter into discussions.[15]

Campaign

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A petition urging the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Defra to halt Geronimo's killing[16] was signed by more than 140,000 people as of 25 August 2021.[17] The campaign received support from broadcaster and wildlife activist Chris Packham and the Prime Minister's father Stanley Johnson.[5] A protest was organised outside of Downing Street in a bid to save Geronimo.[18]

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The first appeal hearing began in March 2019.[19] On 9 July, the High Court dismissed an appeal to quash the judgment.[20] In May 2021, a district judge ordered an "execution warrant"; Macdonald appealed on 29 July, but this was dismissed by the High Court. Mr Justice Griffiths said he had a "great degree of sympathy for her" but stressed the need to protect against the "serious consequences" of bTB, adding: "This is not a case in which the wishes and feelings of Miss Macdonald can be paramount."[21]

On 17 August 2021, it was reported that the High Court had agreed to consider an application for an injunction halting Geronimo's destruction and Macdonald's solicitor said, "Defra have agreed to extend their undertaking until 17:00 on Tuesday";[22] the injunction was being sought while a separate application by Macdonald to the High Court concerning material non-disclosure by the government during the earlier court cases awaits a hearing date.[17] Mrs Justice Stacey ruled against the injunction on the grounds that there was "no prospect" of Macdonald succeeding in her attempt to reopen the earlier decision of the High Court.[23] On 20 August, Macdonald said that legal costs concerning the animal's health had so far amounted to £43,000 and had left her without any farming income for over four years.[24]

Death and aftermath

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Shortly before 11:00 on 31 August 2021, three veterinary surgeons from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), escorted by officers from the Avon and Somerset Police, entered the farm to escort Geronimo away.[25] The police briefly arrested a protester at the site who attempted to spray the police with a water pistol.[26] Later that day, Defra released a statement that Geronimo had been euthanised by APHA.[27]

A request made by Macdonald for an independent vet to attend the post-mortem was denied by HM Government Legal Department, prompting her to accuse Defra and APHA of concealing their processes and acting without transparency and fairness.[28] In addition, The British Alpaca Society (BAS) lodged an official complaint with the British Government about the "disgraceful and abhorrent conduct" of APHA officers and vets who attended Helen Macdonald's premises to seize her alpaca Geronimo, stating they had improperly captured him, leading to distress, and were also violent towards the alpaca.[29]

On 8 September, the chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss said, following a post mortem, that numerous "TB-like lesions" had been found. More tests would be carried out with "the developing of bacteriological cultures", with the hope of this being done by the end of the year.[30] Helen Macdonald and her lawyers disputed these results, stating that the preliminary findings were considered by veterinary surgeons advising her, who supported Macdonald and concluded: ".. for clarity there are no white or cream caseous, enlarged abscesses typical for bTB in alpacas whether in the lungs, bronchial, mediastinal or retropharyngeal lymph nodes." They requested a full report and other documents, in addition to tissue samples for independent biological tests.[31][32]

Macdonald stated on 16 September that Defra had not provided her with details of how Geronimo was euthanised, and accused it of trying to hide information that would be contrary to its claims of the alpaca having bovine tuberculosis. Defra however responded that they had contacted her and will provide the information in due time.[33] George Eustice meanwhile defended the euthanisation, stating that Geronimo had tested positive using the Emperplex test, which has a very low chance of error. He added that the test would have eventually given a false negative result if they had kept on testing him.[34]

A more detailed post-mortem report, released to Macdonald in September 2021, stated that the lesions found on Geronimo's neck area were atypical of bovine TB and there was "an occasional low number of red blood cells" in his lungs. Macdonald and her veterinary advisers stated in October that the report showed that he did not have the disease and had suffered a traumatic death. DEFRA responded by stating that it would take months to confirm whether he had the disease.[35] On 10 December 2021 Defra stated postmortem tests to establish whether Geronimo had been infected with bovine bTB had been inconclusive. The Guardian wrote, "Iain McGill, a veterinary scientist who has advised Macdonald [Geronimo's owner], said it was a "very sad day." He said he believed the failure to culture bacteria showed it was "extremely unlikely" that Geronimo had TB." The BBC wrote, "The veterinary nurse [Macdonald] consistently argued the Enferplex test was fundamentally flawed. She said the reason Geronimo had tested positive was because as part of the test he was primed with tuberculin - a purified protein derivative of bovine TB bacteria."[36][37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Macdonald, Helen. "Nevalea Geronimo (True Black)". Alpaca Power. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Lagan, Bernard; Gibbons, Katie (10 August 2021). "Alpaca breeder who raised Geronimo shocked at TB death ruling". The Times. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca: 'Flawed science' led to kill order". BBC News. 6 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. ^ Sabin, Lamiat (9 August 2021). "'All hell will break loose' if Geronimo is killed and then tests negative for TB, says expert". The Independent. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 185201487. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Geronimo the alpaca: Who is he and why has he hit the headlines?". BBC News. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Geronimo the Alpaca must be put down to protect cows - minister". BBC News. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca - Defra in the media". deframedia.blog.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca's owner on tenterhooks after stays of execution expire". The Independent. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  9. ^ Murphy, Heather (10 August 2021). "Thousands in Britain Are Trying to Save Geronimo the Alpaca From Execution". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 819006198. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Why it's unlikely Geronimo the alpaca's TB test gave a false positive". Full Fact. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  11. ^ "George Eustice defends decision to cull alpaca Geronimo as 'arduous but necessary'". The Guardian. Press Association. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  12. ^ O'Leary, Abigail (6 August 2021). "Boris Johnson refuses to save Geronimo the alpaca who has tested positive for TB". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says Geronimo the alpaca must die". i. 11 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Farmers speak out on bTB hardship as Geronimo dominates headlines". Farmers Guide. 16 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Vets pen open letter on Geronimo case". 23 August 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca: Protesters march on Downing Street". BBC News. 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  17. ^ a b Ahmed, Kaamil (16 August 2021). "Geronimo the alpaca's future to be decided at hearing, says vet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca: Protesters march on Downing Street". BBC News. 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  19. ^ Ambrose, Tom (31 August 2021). "The unsuccessful fight to save Geronimo, the alpaca: a timeline". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Farmer loses High Court bid to save alpaca". BBC News. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Farmer loses final High Court bid to save alpaca's life". BBC News. 29 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca gets temporary reprieve ahead of review". BBC News. 17 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  23. ^ Morris, Steven (18 August 2021). "Final legal effort to save Geronimo the alpaca thrown out by judge". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca legal fight cost £43k plus lost income". BBC News. 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca removed from farm with police escort". The Guardian. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca killed as legal row ends". BBC News. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca killed by British officials after failed legal battle to save him". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  28. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca: Owner blocked from observing post-mortem". BBC News. September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  29. ^ Bancroft, Holly (1 September 2021). "British Alpaca Society condemns ministers over 'disgraceful' method used by vets who seized Geronimo". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Geronimo the TB-positive alpaca – Initial post-mortem results - Defra in the media". deframedia.blog.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  31. ^ Grierson, Jamie (8 September 2021). "Geronimo postmortem results negative for TB, say owner's lawyers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  32. ^ "Geronimo the alpaca: TB test results disputed". BBC News. 8 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  33. ^ "Geronimo owner accuses government of 'wall of silence'". BBC News. 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  34. ^ Sharman, Laura (17 September 2021). "George Eustice defends decision to euthanise Geronimo the alpaca". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  35. ^ Dalton, Jane (2 October 2021). "Geronimo the alpaca's owner claims new test results show he did not have TB". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  36. ^ Postmortem tests on Geronimo the alpaca inconclusive, Defra says The Guardian
  37. ^ Geronimo the alpaca: Tests unable to confirm bTB BBC
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