Helen Macdonald vowed to fight for animal rights in 'honour' of Geronimo: 'Geronimo was a blessing in my life. He touched the world. He was loved and precious to very many people and he lives on. I miss him'.
DAN SALES: Vets at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been accused of a ‘false narrative’ by two experts backing slain alpaca Geronimo’s owner. An ugly row has broken out over whether the beloved animal had bovine tuberculosis after his ‘owner’ Helen McDonald claimed the initial findings of the post-mortem showed no signs of the disease – but the Government insisted this was wrong.
But last night, Dr Iain McGill, one of the vets who reviewed the preliminary findings for her, claimed lesions mentioned by Defra were unlikely to be symptoms of bTB. He said: ‘What those post mortem results showed was that there were no lesions typical of bTB in alpacas in that carcass. If Geronimo had really been suffering from bTB for four to six years, he would have massive abscesses. ‘[Defra] are now trying to kick this into the long grass. The abscesses they found are in the wrong place to be consistent with bTB. It is a fake claim and a false narrative’.
Miss Macdonald said the preliminary post-mortem findings were ‘negative for visible lesions typical of bovine tuberculosis’, but in stark contrast the Chief Veterinary Officer said that ‘a number of TB-like lesions were found’. She called on Environment Secretary George Eustice to resign as she gathered with supporters outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs building in London, chanting: ‘Shame on Defra’.
Miss Macdonald received a copy of the preliminary findings of the examination from the Government’s Legal Department after requesting the paperwork, and it was then reviewed by veterinary surgeons supporting her. Surrounded by her supporters in Westminster yesterday afternoon amid a vocal demonstration, Miss Macdonald called on Environment Secretary George Eustice to resign…
Speaking at the protest, Miss 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.’
Miss Macdonald also vowed to fight for animal rights in ‘honour’ of Geronimo. She said: ‘Geronimo was a blessing in my life. He touched the world. He was loved and precious to very many people and he lives on. ‘I miss him. But I will do him the honour of fighting for him and making sure his legacy lives on for all animals’… Speakers at the protest at Defra’s headquarters included vet Dr Iain McGill, animal welfare campaigner and writer Dominic Dyer and broadcaster and journalist Kevin O’Sullivan…
Meanwhile, experts are vowing to take further action over the way Geronimo the alpaca was dragged from his pen and bundled into the back of a horse box to be driven away and killed by Government vets. The British Alpaca Society wrote a letter of complaint to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Mr Eustice and various Government officials over the way the animal was removed from his owner’s farm. Sue Loach, chairwoman of the British Alpaca Society, condemned the way Geronimo was removed from his pen, ‘dragging him kicking and screaming’, and then left tethered, standing up in the back of a trailer. SOURCE…
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