THE ALPACA who was culled in August may not have had TB, a statement from the government has revealed. 

In August, around 20 police officers arrived at Helen Macdonald’s farm near Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, along with four staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) dressed in overalls, masks and goggles. 

Geronimo, who had twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis, was tied with white rope before being pulled through a field and loaded into a waiting trailer.

The trailer left the farm at 11.20am and, by 12.40pm, Defra confirmed that the animal had been euthanised by staff from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha).

Although a statement from Defra at the time said Geronimo had been culled “as a necessary measure” to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis, a report released today says that there was 'inconslusive' evidence that this was the case. 

A statement from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) read:

"The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has completed its culture testing work for the alpaca known as ‘Geronimo’, which tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) twice using highly specific tests.

"In September, APHA specialist vets completed an initial post-mortem examination of the animal, which revealed the presence of TB-like lesions. These have since been undergoing further testing to determine the source of infection."

"APHA has today confirmed that it was not possible to culture bacteria from tissue samples taken at post-mortem examination, meaning that it will not be possible to carry out Whole Genome Sequencing in order to try to understand how the alpaca caught the disease.

"This does not mean the animal was free of bTB infection because it had previously twice tested positive using highly specific, validated and reliable tests."

The Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:

“This animal tested positive for bovine tuberculosis on two separate occasions using highly specific tests.

"Due to the complexity of the disease, further testing has not enabled us to use Whole Genome Sequencing to try to understand how the animal became infected in the first place.

"Our sympathies remain with all those with animals affected by this terrible disease which devastates farmers’ livelihoods.

"It is important to remember that infected animals can spread the disease to both animals and people before displaying clinical signs, which is why we take action quickly to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

"We are grateful for the cooperation of livestock farmers to allow this to happen."