Farmers come out in SUPPORT of Geronimo: Livestock owners say they have had 'perfectly healthy' animals killed by DEFRA because of inaccurate tests – including one who had vets turn up and kill 95 of his heifers

Farmers have blasted Defra for 'killing perfectly healthy animals' suspected to have TB as the row over Geronimo the alpaca, who has been condemned to die by the government, carries on.

Tony Brunt, 71, barricaded himself into his farm near New Quay, Cardiganshire, in May this year in a bid to save Mary, a three-year-old pregnant heifer, condemned to die by Government ministers.

He was hoping to fight it out in court but a team of 16 vets, officers from the Dyfed Powys Police Rural Crime Unit, agriculture officials and slaughtermen turned up at his remote West Wales farm along with a marksman armed with a high-powered rifle.

Mr Brunt said: 'If they are prepared to go to those lengths what chance does the Alpaca stand? They are killing perfectly healthy animals based on inaccurate testing - I'm fed up with it.'

He decided to put up a fight after 94 of his shorthorn cattle were slaughtered over four years at his farm.

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford had earlier this year had sparked a fierce backlash when he said the 'single biggest reason' for a rise in TB levels in parts of the country with low risk was farmers 'buying infected cattle and bringing them into the area'.

Abi Reader, who manages a dairy farm in Glamorganshire, south Wales, told Farmers' Weekly in July that she had lost 42 cows due to TB. She said: 'There is a big wildlife problem, especially in west Wales. The Welsh government needs to be a little bit bolder and have a go at a badger population cull like they have done in England.

'The testing is also not good enough. We are all suffering and that would include members of the government. They are not doing enough really.'

Tony Brunt, 71, barricaded himself into his farm near New Quay, Cardiganshire, in May this year in a bid to save Mary, a three-year-old pregnant heifer, condemned to die by Government ministers (pictured: Mr Brunt and Mary)

Geronimo's owner Helen McDonald is convinced her four-year-old alpaca is free of TB after being tested in 2017

more videos

Take a look at the most recent Covid-19 statistics around the world

Police officer punches woman in the face during arrest at Sainsbury's

Family gather to pay respects after five-month-old child dies

Tributes left at the park where baby tragically passed away

Dodgers ball girl tackles invader sending him flipping over barrier

Tesco worker goes viral for hilarious formal resignation

Chicago cops charge two brothers over murder of officer Ella French

Kookaburra lands on man's lawn mower and won't budge

Friend of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore speaks about her death

LA Dodgers ball girl tackles speedy fan running across field

Two women kicked off plane for yelling at passengers to move seats

Lori Lightfoot addresses police shootings after officer was killed

Organic dairy farmers Dai, Sharon and Llŷr Miles, who are based in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said their farm had gone down with TB for the first time in three years following a positive test from a first-calving heifer.

Llŷr said it was 'not just cows with TB', adding: There is nothing being done to address the problem in the wildlife reservoir.

'Let's not forget that countries such as France and Germany are able to maintain bovine TB incidence levels close to zero, and the Republic of Ireland has been able to halve TB incidents through proactive badger culling.'

Dairy farmer Mr Brunt told MailOnline he had parked a tractor to block off the farm entrance and hid Mary on the farm - not even telling his wife where she was to avoid her having to lie to the agriculture officials.

But at 7am on the morning of May 26 the couple were woken by the roar of vehicles coming into their farmyard.

Mr Brunt said: 'I was still in my pyjamas, they hammered on the door and demanded I told them where Mary was. I said: ''Why would I do that?'' If I told them I wouldn't be doing my job as a farmer to look after her.

'There were so many vehicles in my yard, I lost count. It was a big operation for just one cow - it was overkill and heavy-handed in my opinion.'

Mr Brunt, pictured with Mary, said: 'If they are prepared to go to those lengths what chance does the Alpaca stand? They are killing perfectly healthy animals based on inaccurate testing - I'm fed up with it'

The team from the Animal and Plant Health Agency began searching the 250-acre Coybal Farm for Mary who was tagged with a tell-tale plastic identity clip on her ear.

Tony, who has coronary heart disease, said: 'We had to stay in the farmhouse while they searched, I knew it wouldn't be long before they found her.

'She was shot by a marksman with a rifle, she was due to have her second calf in September.'

Mr Brunt's wife Heather, 69, said it was 'disgraceful and insensitive' that Mary was killed in front of other cattle causing them great distress.

Mary, whose lineage goes back more than 50 years with the Brunt family, was loaded onto a trailer and taken away to the local knackers yard.

A post mortem examination on her carcass revealed Mary didn't have bovine tuberculosis. Tony and Heather were not surprised, their beloved animal had three inconclusive TB skin tests and five negative blood tests for the disease.

Geronimo the alpaca at Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire

Geronimo's owner Helen McDonald is also convinced her four-year-old alpaca is free of TB after being tested in 2017.

Father-of-three Mr Brunt said: 'I don't hold out much hope for the lady's alpaca but she has Chris Packham and public opinion on her side so who knows?

'I hope the animal is saved but I don't think that will happen if our experience is anything to go by.

'The best thing she can do is keep filming it - they won't turn up and kill the alpaca if there are cameras there.

'We tried to do that to save Mary but they would not let us take photographs, in fact they wouldn't let us anywhere near when they killed her.'

The couple once had 400 cattle at their farm overlooking the Irish Sea but they are down to 150 due to Government policy on bovine TB.

They get financial compensation but nothing has come through so far for Mary and the healthy calf that died with her.

The Brunts face losing more of their herd when Welsh Government vets return to the farm later this week to test remaining cattle.

Mr Brunt said: 'We are being treated like dirt but we have to be realistic, and expect some of the cows to test positive for TB.

'I'm not impartial in this. The Government doesn't want livestock in Wales and they are taking this course. That's my opinion, some people won't agree.'

Bovine TB has become a hot-button issue in rural areas of the country, with farmers calling for more government action to tackle the disease in wildlife.

Eight-year-old alpaca stud Geronimo, from New Zealand, was condemned to death after positive TB testsA warrant was last week issued to destroy the animal following a £50,000 High Court battle Owner Helen Macdonald claims the tests were flawed because the alpaca was given the vaccine tuberculin Volunteers and supporters are now planning to form a human shield around Geronimo's pen to save himProtesters are today marching on Downing Street to try and save Geronimo from his grisly sentence

Protesters are marching on Downing Street calling for Geronimo the alpaca to be spared - as dozens of supporters vowed to form a 'human shield' around the animal.

The eight-year-old alpaca stud, from New Zealand but now living in south Gloucestershire, was condemned to death after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis .

A warrant was last week issued to destroy the animal following a £50,000 High Court battle, but owner Helen Macdonald, 50, claims the skin tests were flawed because Geronimo had been given the vaccine tuberculin which produced a false positive.

The alpaca was given a 48-hour reprieve over the weekend amid fears police will force their way into Ms Macdonald's farm early on Monday with a vet to put him to sleep.

Volunteers and supporters are now planning to form a human shield around Geronimo's pen to save him - and protesters are today marching on Downing Street to try and save Geronimo from his grisly sentence.

The stricken animal has also attracted some unlikely supporters, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley among those asking for a last-minute reprieve.

Writing in The Sun, he said: 'I hope and believe his execution can be avoided even at this late stage.' The author said seeing photos of Geronimo 'took me back 62 years ago' to his gap year in South America from Brazil to Peru where he encountered 'herds of llamas, vicunas, and alpacas'.

'But when I read the dreadful story which accompanied the photos, my heart took a rapid leap back down to earth,' he added on hearing of Geronimo's ordeal.

Despite pleas to The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to re-test Geronimo, the Government have point-blank refused.

And Downing Street has made clear there can be no reprieve for Geronimo.

The eight-year-old alpaca stud, from New Zealand but now living in south Gloucestershire, was condemned to death after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis

Demonstrators head to Downing Street in central London, during the protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo

Helen Macdonald, 50, claims the skin tests were flawed because Geronimo had been given the vaccine tuberculin which produced a false positive

Demonstrators head to Downing Street in central London, during the protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo, the alpaca which has tested positive for tuberculosis

Demonstrators outside Defra headquarters in central London during a protest march against the decision to put down Geronimo

Protesters march on Downing Street in a bid to save doomed alpaca Geronimo from death

A group of supporters with Helen and her alpaca Geronimo who has been sentenced to death

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We know how distressing losing animals to TB is for anyone. That is why the Environment Secretary has looked at this extremely carefully and interrogated all the evidence.

'The fact remains that Geronimo has sadly tested positive twice using a highly specific and reliable and validated test.

WHAT IS BOVINE TB?

Bovine tuberculosis is a disease of cattle that can also infect badgers, deer, goats, pigs, dogs and cats.

The disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium bovis.

This is related to the microbe that causes tuberculosis in humans.

Bovine tuberculosis is typically transmitted aerially through coughs and sneezes.

It causes fever, coughing, weight loss, pain, diarrhoea and ultimately death.

Badgers are the most significant wildlife reservoir for the bacterium.

In the United Kingdom, most bovine tuberculosis outbreaks occur in the South West and the West Midlands.

'This is something the Environment Secretary has looked at very carefully.'

Speaking from her farm in Wickar, south Gloucestershire, Ms Macdonald said: 'The police will come in early in the morning because they will try to catch us off guard, so we'll get people here as early as possible.

'They could get up at dawn, so we want a human shied for Geronimo and we have people offering to help with that.

'We're very grateful, some people have said they'll come from further away but we'll use local people to start with.

'We'll have a human shield situation, it's just for our peace of mind.

'We will not break the law but we will stand up for what is right and what the Government want to do to a healthy animal is not right.

'We are under siege and aren't getting any sleep.

'It's awful, we're just so exhausted.

'We don't have time to do normal things we just manage to get the animals fed and put the washing on but were not getting any kind of respite.

'We're worried about being here on our own, they can turn up at any time.

'When there's lots of people around we feel safer - it's a very strange situation where you have a Government treating you like a criminal and you haven't done anything wrong.

'My mum is 84 years old on Monday and she asked me last night if she was going to effectively have the firing squad here on her birthday.'

Veterinary nurse Helen has previously vowed to 'kill him myself' if she was sure Geronimo was infected with bovine TB.

She added: 'If he was given a valid test which proved he actually had the disease then I would kill him myself.

'Geronimo has never tested positive for bTB. He had anti-bodies after taking the vaccine tuberculin which is exactly what you would expect to happen.

'The science was dodgy. The Government do not want to admit that they have to investigate why alpaca's react differently to tuberculin.'

Helen Macdonald with her alpaca Geronimo, who has been sentenced to death

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick. Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o

NowMyNews

Search This Blog