Post-mortem of Geronimo the alpaca shows no evidence he had TB

The Geronimo drama continues

The post-mortem of Geronimo the alpaca has revealed 'not a shred of evidence' to suggest he had contracted bovine tuberculosis, his owner and veterinarians have said. A four-year legal battle came to a close in August when the Government put down Geronimo the Alpaca. Despite the numerous protests and his growing cult following, the alpaca was terminated. https://twitter.com/domdyer70/status/1444045799055364103 Geronimo's owner Helen Macdonald released the full post-mortem report last night which was carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Both Macdonald and her own vets confirmed that the Geronimo was negative for the disease. Miss Macdonald said: "I fully expected the post mortem results to be negative for TB but there is no joy in being proven right. I am outraged and devastated by the way Geronimo and I have been treated." Similarly, Dr Bob Broadbent, the alpaca's vet, said that there were no lesions found in the animal's lungs or respiratory system, which is the most commonplace for them to occur. https://twitter.com/CosmicBrace/status/1444250902051889158 "If Geronimo had had bTB for over six years as Defra claimed, you would expect to find large, classic pyogranulomas (tumours) produced as a result of bTB infection," he said. "None of the lesions identified are pathognomonic (or) specifically indicative of bTB. Despite Defra claiming all of the lesions are "TB-like", the post-mortem report expressly rules out any mycobacterial infection such bTB relating to the lesions found in the neck area." The report was seconded by fellow vet Dr Iain McGill, who said: "Simply put, there is not one shred of evidence from this report to suggest Geronimo had bTB." Despite her statement, Defra immediately responded and confirmed a 'number of TB-like lesions were found' which warranted further investigation. "We would expect to complete the full post-mortem by the end of the year," said Defra's Dr Christine Middlemiss.

Read More:

• Geronimo the alpaca did not have TB according to post mortem, owner claims
• Death-row alpaca Geronimo has been killed