Government denies claims Geronimo the alpaca didn’t have TB in initial post-mortem

The government has denied that initial tests showed no signs of TB in Geronimo the alpaca.

Geronimo was culled by officials as he was believed to have the disease, despite a huge public campaign to save him.

His supporters claimed this afternoon that initial results of a post-mortem examination indicated he was not suffering from Bovine TB.

The animal’s owner, Helen Macdonald, called on the environment minister to resign.

But a spokesperson for Defra denied claims there were no signs of TB, saying it was untrue.

Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Christine Middlemiss said: ‘We have completed the initial post-mortem examination of Geronimo. 

‘A number of TB-like lesions were found and in line with standard practice these are now undergoing further investigation. 

‘These tests include the developing of bacteriological cultures from tissue samples which usually takes several months – we would expect to complete the full post-mortem and culture process by the end of the year.’

Geronimo had twice tested positive for bovine TB after he was brought over from New Zealand, but this took place four years ago with court battles and protests to save him during the interim, while he lived in isolation.

Before the alpaca was killed, Ms Macdonald maintained that she did not believe Geronimo had the disease.

She says that the tests could not be relied on as the alpaca had been primed with tuberculin – a protein derivative of the bovine TB bacteria – and wanted him to be retested.

But this was not permitted, and government officials arrived on her farm in South Gloucestershire to take him away and ‘execute’ him earlier this month.

Ms Macdonald had been offered the chance to arrange her own vet to euthanise the animal, but said she would not comply with the order.

In a blog post, Defra wrote: ‘A lesion is an area of tissue that has been damaged through disease. In some cases, the microscopic lesions of TB in the affected organs can take a very long time to progress to larger, visible lesions, if at all. It is therefore significant to find these signs.’

Ms Macdonald requested a copy of the post-mortem examination and lawyers acting for her said she had received a letter from the Government Legal Department containing the preliminary findings. These findings were then reviewed by vets supporting Ms Macdonald.

The results do not conclusively prove whether or not he had Bovine TB, with more tests set to be carried out looking for the disease in his cells.

In a statement, the lawyers said: ‘As reviewed by Dr Iain McGill and Dr Bob Broadbent, the preliminary gross post-mortem findings are negative for visible lesions typical of Bovine Tuberculosis.

‘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.

‘Ms Macdonald has formally requested the full findings of the post-mortem report ‘Form TB50’, together with all relevant documents and the results of further tests on tissue samples, blood, serum or plasma taken or obtained from Geronimo, along with any further test results including Enferplex, Idexx, Actiphage and any other PCR or interferon gamma tests performed by Defra, along with the results of histopathogical examination.

‘She has further requested that both fresh, frozen and formalin fixed tissue and fluid samples be preserved and provided to an independent expert to carry out further tests.’

Supporters of Geronimo gathered outside the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in central London today, holding placards such as one saying: ‘Dragged kicking and screaming, strangled and suffocated to his death’.

Surrounded by supporters at the protest today, Ms Macdonald said: ‘We urge the Government to act with compassion and cooperation, which to date has been severely lacking, creating deep and unnecessary distress to Geronimo.

‘We call on the secretary of state to tender his resignation immediately.’

Defra said their tests were ‘highly accurate’ and that bovine TB is a ‘dangerous zoonotic disease’ they seek to control by culling animals suspected to have it to protect public health.

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