End is now really threatening for TB alpaca Geronimo | Abroad

Today at 5 p.m. local time, an ultimatum expires that should have enabled owner Helen MacDonald to administer the fatal shot to Geronimo herself. She still has no intention of doing that, reports The Guardian, among others.

The public debate in England about Geronimo’s future led, among other things, to a petition to save the animal. It has now been signed by 130,000 people. There is even a human shield formed around Geronimo’s bead. That all seems in vain, as the last hope, a final hearing at the Supreme Court in London, fell in Geronimo’s favour.

Bovine TB can have devastating effects on livestock and is highly contagious. According to MacDonald, a veterinary surgeon himself, Geronimo cannot have tuberculosis at all. The animal tested positive in 2017 and has been isolated from the other alpacas ever since. “If he had it, he would have been dead long ago and he’s healthy and fit.” MacDonald’s other alpacas are also healthy, she says. She therefore has no confidence in the tests that showed that Geronimo was infected.

However, Wednesday’s ruling by high judge Stacey means that Geronimo must be put down for good. That could have happened anytime after 4:30 p.m. Thursday, but a government representative said he would wait at least until Friday afternoon.

According to MacDonald, the Ministry of the Environment wants it to take up the deadly syringe itself, but that will not happen. “I won’t break any laws to stop them, but I’ll add, there’s a camera over Geronimo’s kraal. And if they kill him, they do it in front of the world.”

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