Protesters march on Downing Street in desperate bid to save Geronimo after HUMAN SHIELD vowed to save him from death sentence - as Boris's dad joins fight to save TB-afflicted alpaca
- Eight-year-old alpaca stud Geronimo, from New Zealand, was condemned to death after positive TB tests
- A warrant was last week issued to destroy the animal following a £50,000 High Court battle
- Owner Helen Macdonald claims the tests were flawed because the alpaca was given the vaccine tuberculin
- Volunteers and supporters are now planning to form a human shield around Geronimo's pen to save him
- Protesters are today marching on Downing Street to try and save Geronimo from his grisly sentenceProtesters are marching on Downing Street calling for Geronimo the alpaca to be spared - as dozens of supporters vowed to form a 'human shield' around the animal.
The eight-year-old alpaca stud, from New Zealand but now living in south Gloucestershire, was condemned to death after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB).
A warrant was last week issued to destroy the animal following a £50,000 High Court battle, but owner Helen Macdonald, 50, claims the skin tests were flawed because Geronimo had been given the vaccine tuberculin which produced a false positive.
The alpaca was given a 48-hour reprieve over the weekend amid fears police will force their way into Ms Macdonald's farm early on Monday with a vet to put him to sleep.
Volunteers and supporters are now planning to form a human shield around Geronimo's pen to save him - and protesters are today marching on Downing Street to try and save Geronimo from his grisly sentence.
The stricken animal has also attracted some unlikely supporters, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley among those asking for a last-minute reprieve.
Writing in The Sun, he said: 'I hope and believe his execution can be avoided even at this late stage.' The author said seeing photos of Geronimo 'took me back 62 years ago' to his gap year in South America from Brazil to Peru where he encountered 'herds of llamas, vicunas, and alpacas'.
'But when I read the dreadful story which accompanied the photos, my heart took a rapid leap back down to earth,' he added on hearing of Geronimo's ordeal.
Despite pleas to The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to re-test Geronimo, the Government have point-blank refused.
And Downing Street has made clear there can be no reprieve for Geronimo.
The eight-year-old alpaca stud, from New Zealand but now living in south Gloucestershire, was condemned to death after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB)
Demonstrators head to Downing Street in central London, during the protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo
Helen Macdonald, 50, claims the skin tests were flawed because Geronimo had been given the vaccine tuberculin which produced a false positive
Demonstrators head to Downing Street in central London, during the protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo, the alpaca which has tested positive for tuberculosis
Protesters hold up placards as they gather outside Downing Street to protest against the decision to euthanize 'Geronimo'
Demonstrators outside Defra headquarters in central London during a protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo
Protesters march on Downing Street in a bid to save doomed alpaca Geronimo from death
A group of supporters with Helen and her alpaca Geronimo who has been sentenced to death
Demonstrators stage a protest outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) against the decision to put down Geronimo the alpaca
Demonstrators in Westminster, central London, during a protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo, the alpaca which has tested positive for tuberculosis
Demonstrators stage a protest outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) against the decision to put down Geronimo the alpaca
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We know how distressing losing animals to TB is for anyone. That is why the Environment Secretary has looked at this extremely carefully and interrogated all the evidence.
'The fact remains that Geronimo has sadly tested positive twice using a highly specific and reliable and validated test.
'This is something the Environment Secretary has looked at very carefully.'
Speaking from her farm in Wickar, south Gloucestershire, Ms Macdonald said: 'The police will come in early in the morning because they will try to catch us off guard, so we'll get people here as early as possible.
'They could get up at dawn, so we want a human shied for Geronimo and we have people offering to help with that.
'We're very grateful, some people have said they'll come from further away but we'll use local people to start with.
'We'll have a human shield situation, it's just for our peace of mind.
'We will not break the law but we will stand up for what is right and what the Government want to do to a healthy animal is not right.
'We are under siege and aren't getting any sleep.
'It's awful, we're just so exhausted.
'We don't have time to do normal things we just manage to get the animals fed and put the washing on but were not getting any kind of respite.
'We're worried about being here on our own, they can turn up at any time.
'When there's lots of people around we feel safer - it's a very strange situation where you have a Government treating you like a criminal and you haven't done anything wrong.
'My mum is 84 years old on Monday and she asked me last night if she was going to effectively have the firing squad here on her birthday.'
Veterinary nurse Helen has previously vowed to 'kill him myself' if she was sure Geronimo was infected with bovine TB.
She added: 'If he was given a valid test which proved he actually had the disease then I would kill him myself.
'Geronimo has never tested positive for bTB. He had anti-bodies after taking the vaccine tuberculin which is exactly what you would expect to happen.
'The science was dodgy. The Government do not want to admit that they have to investigate why alpaca's react differently to tuberculin.'
Demonstrators in Westminster, central London, during a protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo, the alpaca which has tested positive for tuberculosis
Helen Macdonald with her alpaca Geronimo, who has been sentenced to death
Demonstrators stage a protest outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) against the decision to put down Geronimo the alpaca, which has tested positive for tuberculosis in London
Demonstrators outside Defra headquarters in central London during a protest march
Demonstrators ahead of a protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo, the alpaca which has tested positive for tuberculosis
Veterinary nurse Helen has previously vowed to 'kill him myself' if she was sure Geronimo was infected with bovine TB (pictured: Demonstrators outside Defra headquarters in London)
Environment Secretary George Eustice refused to overturn the decision to destroy Geronimo, saying: 'Every livestock farmer has to get used to their share of tragedy and loss.'
Helen and her family lost a final attempt on Thursday to save Geronimo from being destroyed.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) now has 27 days to carry out the court order.
BBC presenter Chris Packham urged Mr Eustice to put politics aside and allow Geronimo to be tested one more time.
Last night Geronimo's vet accused minister George Eustice of 'lying about the science' to justify the alpaca's execution and called for him to be sacked.
Dr Iain McGill criticised comments made by the Environment Secretary in which he explained why the positive bovine tuberculosis (bTB) tests were reliable.
'George Eustice has blatantly lied here about the tests used on Geronimo,' he said. 'It is despicable to attempt to manufacture consent for the slaughter of Geronimo with entirely false information. George Eustice must now resign. If he doesn't, the Prime Minister should sack him.'
Protesters hold up placards as they gather outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to protest against the decision to kill Geronimo
Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca at the gate to Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire
Alpaca farmer Andrea Crips (centre) with supporters of Geronimo the alpaca at the gate to Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire
A warrant was last week issued to destroy the animal following a £50,000 High Court battle, but owner Helen Macdonald, 50, claims the skin tests were flawed because Geronimo had been given the vaccine tuberculin which produced a false positiveIn an article in The Mail on Sunday, Mr Eustice claimed the 'Enferplex' blood test, used twice on Geronimo, was validated by the British Alpaca Society, was 99 per cent accurate and produced a 'false positive' in only 0.34 per cent of cases.
However, Dr McGill said Mr Eustice had failed to take into account the fact that Geronimo was 'primed' or injected with a protein called tuberculin to increase sensitivity to the test, on the orders of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Experts and Geronimo's owner, veterinary nurse Helen Macdonald, are convinced that the tuberculin produced false positive results.
Dr McGill, an ex-Government adviser and bTB expert, also said Mr Eustice had shown a 'total misunderstanding' of the science by claiming Enferplex tests detect the bug itself, rather than an immune response to it.
Dr McGill said Mr Eustice was confusing Enferplex with the 'Actiphage' test, which detects live bTB bacteria. Defra has refused to use this test. Last night, Defra rejected Dr McGill's claims that Mr Eustice had lied and misinterpreted the science.
A spokesman said unique antigens, or proteins, secreted by bTB bacteria were detected by the two Enferplex tests.
The spokesman also stood by the test accuracy rate, saying a survey used to assess accuracy did include primed alpacas, and added that Actiphage test results were difficult to interpret.
Farmers come out in SUPPORT of Geronimo: Livestock owners say they have had 'perfectly healthy' animals killed by DEFRA because of inaccurate tests – including one who had vets turn up and kill 95 of his heifers
- Tony Brunt, 71, barricaded himself into his farm near New Quay, Cardiganshire, in an attempt to save his heifer
- He was hoping to fight it out in court but a team of 16 vets and police turned up ready to dispatch the animal
- He had decided to put up a fight after 94 of his shorthorn cattle were slaughtered
Farmers have blasted Defra for 'killing perfectly healthy animals' suspected to have TB as the row over Geronimo the alpaca, who has been condemned to die by the government, carries on.
Tony Brunt, 71, barricaded himself into his farm near New Quay, Cardiganshire, in May this year in a bid to save Mary, a three-year-old pregnant heifer, condemned to die by Government ministers.
He was hoping to fight it out in court but a team of 16 vets, officers from the Dyfed Powys Police Rural Crime Unit, agriculture officials and slaughtermen turned up at his remote West Wales farm along with a marksman armed with a high-powered rifle.
Mr Brunt said: 'If they are prepared to go to those lengths what chance does the Alpaca stand? They are killing perfectly healthy animals based on inaccurate testing - I'm fed up with it.'
He decided to put up a fight after 94 of his shorthorn cattle were slaughtered over four years at his farm.
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford had earlier this year had sparked a fierce backlash when he said the 'single biggest reason' for a rise in TB levels in parts of the country with low risk was farmers 'buying infected cattle and bringing them into the area'.
Abi Reader, who manages a dairy farm in Glamorganshire, south Wales, told Farmers' Weekly in July that she had lost 42 cows due to TB. She said: 'There is a big wildlife problem, especially in west Wales. The Welsh government needs to be a little bit bolder and have a go at a badger population cull like they have done in England.
'The testing is also not good enough. We are all suffering and that would include members of the government. They are not doing enough really.'
Tony Brunt, 71, barricaded himself into his farm near New Quay, Cardiganshire, in May this year in a bid to save Mary, a three-year-old pregnant heifer, condemned to die by Government ministers (pictured: Mr Brunt and Mary)
He was hoping to fight it out in court but a team of 16 vets, officers from the Dyfed Powys Police Rural Crime Unit, agriculture officials and slaughtermen turned up at his remote West Wales farm along with a marksman armed with a high-powered rifle
Geronimo's owner Helen McDonald is convinced her four-year-old alpaca is free of TB after being tested in 2017
Organic dairy farmers Dai, Sharon and Llŷr Miles, who are based in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said their farm had gone down with TB for the first time in three years following a positive test from a first-calving heifer.
Llŷr said it was 'not just cows with TB', adding: There is nothing being done to address the problem in the wildlife reservoir.
'Let's not forget that countries such as France and Germany are able to maintain bovine TB incidence levels close to zero, and the Republic of Ireland has been able to halve TB incidents through proactive badger culling.'
Dairy farmer Mr Brunt told MailOnline he had parked a tractor to block off the farm entrance and hid Mary on the farm - not even telling his wife where she was to avoid her having to lie to the agriculture officials.
But at 7am on the morning of May 26 the couple were woken by the roar of vehicles coming into their farmyard.
Mr Brunt said: 'I was still in my pyjamas, they hammered on the door and demanded I told them where Mary was. I said: ''Why would I do that?'' If I told them I wouldn't be doing my job as a farmer to look after her.
'There were so many vehicles in my yard, I lost count. It was a big operation for just one cow - it was overkill and heavy-handed in my opinion.'
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Mr Brunt, pictured with Mary, said: 'If they are prepared to go to those lengths what chance does the Alpaca stand? They are killing perfectly healthy animals based on inaccurate testing - I'm fed up with it'
The team from the Animal and Plant Health Agency began searching the 250-acre Coybal Farm for Mary who was tagged with a tell-tale plastic identity clip on her ear.
Tony, who has coronary heart disease, said: 'We had to stay in the farmhouse while they searched, I knew it wouldn't be long before they found her.
'She was shot by a marksman with a rifle, she was due to have her second calf in September.'
Mr Brunt's wife Heather, 69, said it was 'disgraceful and insensitive' that Mary was killed in front of other cattle causing them great distress.
Mary, whose lineage goes back more than 50 years with the Brunt family, was loaded onto a trailer and taken away to the local knackers yard.
A post mortem examination on her carcass revealed Mary didn't have bovine tuberculosis. Tony and Heather were not surprised, their beloved animal had three inconclusive TB skin tests and five negative blood tests for the disease.
Geronimo the alpaca at Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire
Geronimo's owner Helen McDonald is also convinced her four-year-old alpaca is free of TB after being tested in 2017.
Father-of-three Mr Brunt said: 'I don't hold out much hope for the lady's alpaca but she has Chris Packham and public opinion on her side so who knows?
'I hope the animal is saved but I don't think that will happen if our experience is anything to go by.
'The best thing she can do is keep filming it - they won't turn up and kill the alpaca if there are cameras there.
'We tried to do that to save Mary but they would not let us take photographs, in fact they wouldn't let us anywhere near when they killed her.'
The couple once had 400 cattle at their farm overlooking the Irish Sea but they are down to 150 due to Government policy on bovine TB.
They get financial compensation but nothing has come through so far for Mary and the healthy calf that died with her.
The Brunts face losing more of their herd when Welsh Government vets return to the farm later this week to test remaining cattle.
Mr Brunt said: 'We are being treated like dirt but we have to be realistic, and expect some of the cows to test positive for TB.
'I'm not impartial in this. The Government doesn't want livestock in Wales and they are taking this course. That's my opinion, some people won't agree.'
Bovine TB has become a hot-button issue in rural areas of the country, with farmers calling for more government action to tackle the disease in wildlife.
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