Category Archives: Bovine tuberculosis

Badger cull may have increased bovine TB risk in neighbouring herds – study

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England’s controversial eradication scheme may have caused higher rates of disease in surrounding areas, research shows

England’s controversial badger cull may have increased the risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) among herds in neighbouring areas, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that although badger culling reduced incidences of tuberculosis in the areas where it took place, in neighbouring areas the risk of the disease in cattle increased by almost a third.

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Geronimo’s owner says UK government ‘planned to murder’ alpaca – video

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After a four-year legal battle, Helen Macdonald gave an emotional statement after her alpaca was forcibly removed from his home in Gloucestershire and put down. 

Macdonald said the UK government did not engage in good faith and that 'all the time they were simply planning to murder Geronimo'.

She went on to accuse the government of falsifying Geronimo’s positive bovine tuberculosis test, and that she would not accept the postmortem results if there was not an independent witness present

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Geronimo the alpaca’s future to be decided at hearing, says vet

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Defra agrees to hearing with owner of UK alpaca, which has twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis

An alpaca that faces being destroyed after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis has been given a temporary reprieve, the animal’s vet has said.

The government had twice turned down requests to save Geronimo, but Dr Iain McGill said the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) had now agreed to a hearing with owner Helen Macdonald.

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TB or not TB? Why Geronimo the alpaca has divided experts

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Analysis: fate of condemned camelid shines light on one of the UK’s greatest animal health threats

Long-necked, mop-headed and allegedly “a bit grumpy”, Geronimo the alpaca may seem an unlikely cause célèbre.

Yet the future of the eight-year-old camelid has divided experts, stirred some tabloids into indignant fury, and provoked campaigners – known as “alpaca angels” – to march through London.

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George Eustice defends decision to cull alpaca Geronimo as ‘arduous but necessary’

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Environment secretary says bovine tuberculosis test used on animal ‘over 99% accurate’

Environment secretary George Eustice said it is an “arduous but necessary endeavour” to cull animals that test positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), as he defended the decision to put down Geronimo the alpaca.

Helen Macdonald’s animal has been ordered for destruction after twice testing positive for the disease, but she has repeatedly questioned the tests used to condemn him.

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