Ms. Macdonald, the UK Environment Agency has asked you to euthanize your alpaca Geronimo because it tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.

Last Wednesday, the London High Court upheld the death sentence.

How are you?

Kevin Hanschke

Volunteer.

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It's tiring.

Right now I really don't know what to do.

At the moment there are many people on the farm in Gloucestershire who support me and take care of the other alpacas.

It's like a marathon that never ends.

They want me to kill Geronimo.

All over the world people are shocked at how the court was able to pass this incomprehensible death sentence.

How did this verdict in the Supreme Court come about?

You first decided four years ago that Geronimo had to be euthanized.

I imported it from New Zealand and it tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.

But shortly before that, he had been given a drug called tuberculin.

It was tested with an antibody test.

It's like testing someone with an antibody test after the corona vaccination.

Of course it is then positive.

For four years we have been saying the tests are not working properly.

The environment minister never answered a letter.

Last week the environmental authorities asked us again to put Geronimo to sleep.

The deadline was the last Friday at 5 p.m.

I did not do it.

So far nothing has happened.

What are your demands on politics?

We have presented some options.

The key is that Geronimo should get a blood test to really make sure whether he is infected with the disease.

But it will not be infected, otherwise it would have long since died. The test procedure is criticized by veterinary medical societies, because tuberculosis skin tests on alpacas lead to false-positive results.

The British Alpaca Society has also taken our side and criticized the test procedures.

The environmental agency remains stubborn.

They say Geronimo must have been infected in New Zealand.

What are the other testing procedures that you request use?

There's a new test that measures tuberculosis in the bloodstream.

This is more accurate and can detect infections much later.

How is Geronimo doing at the moment?

There is a webcam that can be used to watch it all over the world.

Yes, you can see him around the clock.

Thousands do it every day.

We have a petition that now has 140,000 signatures.

We also started crowdfunding for the lawyers, which raised over £ 25,000.

He is doing according to the circumstances.

Why has Geronimo become such a symbol of the injustices in the UK's agricultural policy?

I think because we had a policy of no alternatives for decades and people are tired of it. Agricultural policy is a victim of this austerity. If you have problems with cattle, you won't get any support in the event of an epidemic. Many farmers went bankrupt as a result. There is no coherent strategy to contain bovine tuberculosis. It is better to kill hundreds of animals a day in suspected cases, even though they do not even have the disease. We have so many social injustices in the UK. The government's record in fighting Covid is underground. Many people have lost confidence in politics and the state. People identify with Geronimo. People just want the little people to win one day.