An alpaca farmer has lost a high court battle to prevent one of her prized animals from being killed after it twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Helen Macdonald, who runs Alpaca Power in Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, took legal action against the government in a last-ditch attempt to save her stud alpaca, Geronimo.
Macdonald claimed the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was “relying doggedly on flawed science” and argued that Geronimo was not infected, saying the tests produced “false positive results” because he had been “primed” by being injected with bovine tuberculin. She challenged Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s refusal to allow a retest.
However, Mr Justice Murray dismissed the case on Tuesday, finding no “compelling evidence” that the decision not to retest was unlawful. The judge acknowledged it was possible the tests were false positives but said the two positive results provided strong evidence of infection. He said he understood the decision was “highly distressing” but concluded it was not unlawful.
Government lawyers argued Geronimo was “highly suspected” of being infected with bTB, which can take years to manifest symptoms. Ned Westaway, representing Gove, said the defendant had given “careful consideration to all relevant factors” but maintained suspicion that Geronimo was affected. Geronimo was brought from New Zealand in August 2017 and has been in quarantine since.
