Cabinet minister: Putting alpaca aside is the right decision UK News

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The environment minister said the decision to exclude alpacas that tested positive for bovine tuberculosis was the right one, despite its owner asking the government to intervene.

Jeronimo, six, has been tested positive for the disease twice, and the Supreme Court had previously ruled that he should have the disease.

But its owner, Helen MacDonald, whose farm is in Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, is skeptical of the test results and insists she “would stand in the way of any gunman who comes to destroy Jeronimo”.

She asked Boris Johnson to intervene to prevent Jeronimo from being sent to die – but Minister George Eustis said the government could not accept her request.

Photo: Helen MacDonald has been fighting to save Geronimo’s life since 2017

In his book The Mail on Sunday, Mr. Eustis said that while it is “spirit destruction” to have to kill animals, it is the right decision to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

“While there are moments of joy and optimism in agriculture, every cattle farmer has to get used to his share of tragedies and losses,” he wrote.

Eustis, a former farmer, says he has looked at the alpaca condition several times over the past three years, and that the test used on Jeronimo is “over 99% accurate with a false positive result in only 0.34% of cases.”

“In about 30% of cases, the device will not detect an infection even if one is present,” he said. “Two consecutive positive test results are a very strong indication that the disease is present.”

He also spoke of the dangers of disease to livestock and blamed Tony Blair’s government for “inaction”.

Photo: George Eustis defends the government’s decision to arrest the animal

“Bovine tuberculosis has been a huge problem for our cattle industry over the last century and it took several decades in the post-war years to finally control it,” he said.

“However, a combination of inaction during the Blair years, along with increased livestock movements in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis, led to a sharp rise in the incidence of the disease at the beginning of the millennium, and we have been grappling with that for the past decade.”

The minister added that while there has been a focus on Jeronimo’s condition, 500 heads of herds are removed in England every week due to the injury.

“Behind each of these cases is a farmer who has suffered losses and tragedies,” he added.

Image: Geronimo the alpaca tested positive for cow TV twice

Earlier this week, McDonald said she would continue to contest the test results.

“It’s a whole load of lies, and the test is not validated,” she said.

“He still sticks to such a ridiculous claim because they made mistakes in judgment and got arrested.

“If he is willing to kill a healthy animal in front of the entire world without properly testing it first, that is an unfortunate situation.

“And the world will have to see it. Because if he sends a poor person here with a gun to shoot Jeronimo, he will be photographed by the world media.”

Photo: Ms MacDonald took her case to the Supreme Court, which sided with the government despite its claims that Geronimo’s tests were false positives.

More than 80,000 people have signed a petition asking the Prime Minister to intervene, while nearly £19,000 has been donated to cover legal costs.

MacDonald has been in a legal battle with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 2017, but the case has gained momentum since a second execution order went into effect Thursday after a final Supreme Court bid to save him failed.

Bovine tuberculosis is primarily a respiratory disease that is spread by contact with the nose, as well as through contact with saliva, urine, feces and milk.

In 2018, there were 4,395 new herd cases of the disease in Britain, and 44,656 heads were slaughtered for bovine tuberculosis.

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