After years of fighting, the alpaca Geronimo was killed in England.
The animal was euthanized, said the Department of Agriculture in London on Tuesday.
This will stop the spread of the deadly and contagious bovine tuberculosis from which Geronimo was ill.
Two tests had detected the disease when Geronimos arrived in Great Britain around four years ago. The owner of the alpaca had rejected this and requested another, more precise test. However, a court had last ruled against Geronimo and gave the ministry until September 4th to euthanize the animal. Since both the owner and her veterinarian refused to comply with the decision, it was confiscated by the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday. A good dozen police officers were on duty, as the Sun newspaper reported.
The dispute had preoccupied Britain for days and even reached Prime Minister Boris Johnson's family. His father Stanley Johnson had sided with the alpaca. Almost 150,000 people petitioned Geronimo to be saved. But the government remained tough. Bovine tuberculosis is a serious problem for British farmers.