Bovine tuberculosis is a problem in the UK. An allegedly infected alpaca should therefore be killed. Its owner goes to the barricades.
Wickwar – A farmer in England is desperately fighting for her alpaca, which is allegedly infected with contagious bovine tuberculosis. The Ministry of the Environment has ordered Helen Macdonald to have Geronimo euthanized, otherwise the police will do it.
Courts dismissed lawsuits by the 50-year-olds against the decision. But Macdonald announced resistance. “I cannot stand by and allow my animal to be killed, and I am ready to stand in the way of any shooter who comes to destroy Geronimo,” she told The Sun newspaper (Friday). “You picked the wrong woman. I will definitely not put him to sleep. “
Meanwhile, numerous people support Macdonald’s demand that the six-year-old animal be left alive despite two positive tests. The alpaca breeder from the western English village of Wickwar is of the opinion that the investigations would have produced a “false positive” result. It is impossible that the Geronimo from New Zealand would have survived for years if the animal was really sick. The case has long since reached Environment Minister George Eustice, who regrets the decision but is sticking to it. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman also declined to re-examine. The test is reliable, he said on Friday.
Bovine tuberculosis is a widespread problem in the UK. According to the National Farmers Union, 27,000 sick cattle were killed in England alone last year. To prevent the spread of the disease, badgers, which transmit bovine tuberculosis, have been culled for years in selected areas of England and at set times. This practice is expected to expire in 2022. The pathogens can also be transmitted to humans and cause diseases. dpa
