7 Jan 2022
RVN Helen Macdonald also wants a public inquiry into Defra’s handling of case, after report states “it was not possible to culture bacteria from tissue samples taken at postmortem examination”.
Joshua Silverwood
Job Title
Image © SWNS
The owner of Geronimo the alpaca has called for an apology from Defra after the final results of a postmortem revealed no evidence of bTB.
In December, Defra published the results of a culture report taken from the remains of Geronimo after he was euthanised.
The report stated: “It was not possible to culture bacteria from tissue samples taken at postmortem examination, meaning it will not be possible to carry out whole genome sequencing to try to understand how the alpaca caught the disease.”
Following up, a Defra spokesman iterated that while evidence of bTB was not found, that did not necessarily mean Geronimo was not infected with the disease.
Geronimo’s owner and RVN Helen Macdonald is now calling for an apology from Defra and a public inquiry into how bTB investigations are handled in the UK.
Ms Macdonald said: “Defra has perpetuated deliberate dishonesty since 2017 in this case. It manipulated facts rather than objectively consider and reflect on the evidence.
“There was always the option in law not to kill Geronimo, but to study the effects of priming with tuberculin in a healthy camelid under accepted safe conditions.
“Yet despite repeated requests by myself and the British Alpaca Society, Defra and [environment secretary] George Eustice ignored all requests and persisted with threats rather than engage constructively with stakeholders and change their approach for the purpose of establishing more accurate surveillance testing.
“I feel that myself and New Zealand are owed apologies from Defra and the numerous ministers involved.”
In England, Defra is committed to a 25‑year policy dedicated to eradicating the disease – necessitating the euthanasia of Geronimo were he to be positive. The policy has come under fire from a significant number of campaigners.
In a protest outside Defra’s London headquarters on 8 September, following Geronimo’s slaughter, campaigners called for an end to the current bTB policy that they decried as ineffective.
Geronimo’s owner and vet primarily took issue with the specificity of the Enferplex tests used to verify Geronimo’s positive result; that the Enferplex test had only been validated for use in cattle and had not been validated for use with camelids. Defra insists, despite this, the tests are still highly specific and highly accurate.
Geronimo’s vet Bob Broadbent said the results of the report were unsurprising and criticised Defra’s handling of the case.
Dr Broadbent said: “He arrived from a TB‑free farm in New Zealand, having passed the pre‑export testing, and then failed a non validated test in the UK.
“Having then failed a second non‑validated test, Defra decided to ignore all of the obvious evidence, repeatedly refuse to use the validated test and insist on his slaughter.
“The ensuing four years of legal wrangling have done the veterinary profession no favours.”
Dr Broadbent added: “In the past Defra has got away with its bullying tactics because most animal keepers either cannot face the battle against a Government department or, more usually, just believe a Government department would not lie to them, and would tell them what is best for their animals and their holding.
“Geronimo never failed a validated test. He remained clinically and physically very fit and well. They found no lesions typical of TB at slaughter despite the very misleading statements that Defra put out at that time.
“Those tiny fibrous lesions they did find are very common in camelids of Geronimo’s age and they failed to see anything on staining and microscopy that would lead them to truthfully put out the statements they issued. Having then attempted an elongated culture period, they failed to culture any mycobacteria from those lesions. Yet they still insist he had TB.”
Geronimo was seized from his home in Gloucestershire on 31 August last year against a backdrop of protesters vying with police to prevent him from being euthanised.
The British Alpaca Society has since written an open letter to numerous recipients – including the prime minister, Mr Eustice and the office of UK CVO Christine Middlemiss – describing the treatment of Geronimo as “abhorrent”.
Ms Macdonald added: “Geronimo suffered appalling cruelty during the final hours of his life because veterinary officials failed to establish the very basics of alpaca handling, restraint and transportation. For this, Defra should ensure no APHA employees are permitted to work with camelids until they have received appropriate, assessed and documented training.”
