Farmer Vows to Stand in Way of Any Gunman For His Alpaca With Bovine Tuberculosis

After testing positive for bovine tuberculosis twice, a farmer has refused to give a stay of execution to a six-year-old alpaca who fears being slaughtered.

Helen Macdonald has stated that she will "stand in the way of any gunman who comes to destroy" her alpaca Geronimo. She has no intention of putting him to sleep.

A petition signed by over 80,000 individuals has been sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to put an end to the slaughter.

Since 2017, the 50-year-old veterinary nurse has been involved in a court fight with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) over her farm in Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, where she raises the animal.

She has pleaded with Prime Minister David Cameron and Environment Secretary George Eustice to stop the destruction order, which she claims is based on inaccurate testing.

After a last-ditch High Court effort to spare the alpaca failed, a second warrant to execute him went into force on Thursday.

Defra has 30 days to visit her farm and put him down, which means a contractor may lawfully force entrance and shoot Geronimo.

Ms. Macdonald told Sky News "I don't want Geronimo's last moments to be of being caught by a man who will put a gun to his head before he's shot, but then I don't want to consent to having him euthanized".

After it was found that the tests had never been verified for their accuracy and that Geronimo had tested negative four times in New Zealand, Defra defended its procedures. As a result, Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, and its veterinary specialists carefully evaluated the tests and alternatives for Geronimo, as well as passing many phases of rigorous legal examination.

What is Bovine Tuberculosis?

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious illness that affects cattle. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), which may infect and cause illness in a wide range of animals, including people, deer, goats, pigs, cats, dogs, and badgers. It is mostly a respiratory illness in cattle, but clinical symptoms are uncommon. Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis can both cause tuberculosis in humans.

Evidence of bovine tuberculosis is most often discovered in the lymph glands of afflicted animals' throats and lungs. This means that the germs that cause the sickness are mostly expelled from the afflicted animal's body through the breath or discharges from the nose or mouth.

Bacterial infection occurs mostly by inhalation or eating. Food and water tainted with pathogens can potentially be a source of illness. It is spread between cattle, badgers, and other species.

To prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis All tuberculosis-infected animals are slaughtered, and limitations are imposed to prevent animals from being transported on or off the afflicted farm (save for direct slaughter under permission) until additional tests confirm that the herd is clean.

Alpacas

Alpacas are popular as pets and livestock all over the world due to their cute, peaceful, and soft nature. There are no free-roaming alpacas. They have a thin build, a long neck and long legs, a short tail, a tiny head, and big pointed ears and a relative to llamas, which are domesticated variations of the guanaco, another wild Andean ruminant. Llamas are used as pack animals, whereas alpacas are raised for their silky fleece.

Alpacas may be recognized from llamas by their smaller stature; they stand around 90 cm (35 inches) tall at the shoulder and weigh 55 to 65 kg (121 to 143 pounds). The alpaca's shaggy coat ranges in color from black or brown to lighter hues of gray and tan to pale yellow and, on rare occasions, white.