Geronimo the alpaca’s owner reveals she has been receiving grief counseling for two years after she was euthanized after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis
- Helen Macdonald, 52, lost a fight to keep her pet alive when he was killed in 2021
- She revealed that she has been receiving counseling since her untimely death.
Geronimo the alpaca’s owner has revealed that she has been receiving grief counseling for two years after the animal was euthanized.
Helen Macdonald, 52, lost a four-year fight to keep her beloved pet alive when government vets euthanized him in August 2021 over controversial claims he had bovine tuberculosis.
He has been unable to work since 2017 after Defra issued a movement restriction on his farm and has been receiving counseling since his death.
helen said mirror: ‘I miss him every day. He is never far from my mind. I have nightmares about what it was like for him to be tortured. I receive counseling as I am still reliving what happened.
The eight-year-old champion alpaca, who was born in New Zealand before being brought to Britain, was sent to slaughter after she tested positive twice for bTB in 2017.
Geronimo’s owner, Helen Macdonald (pictured), 52, revealed that she has been receiving grief counseling for two years after the animal was euthanized.
Helen lost a four-year fight to keep her beloved pet (pictured) alive when government vets euthanized him in August 2021 over disputed claims he had bovine tuberculosis.
Miss Macdonald has always disputed the results of the bTB test, but the legal battle concluded with a High Court ruling in July 2021 that it should be destroyed.
In August of that year, Defra officials and dozens of police officers stormed Miss Macdonald’s farm to take Geronimo away.
She said Avon and Somerset Police had questions to answer for ‘facilitating the murder’ and accused Defra of ‘thug tactics’ that are ‘frankly inexcusable’.
Miss Macdonald has a herd of alpacas that she uses to make luxury goods like scarves and pashminas on her farm.
He started raising animals 19 years ago. Geronimo, a pedigree alpaca worth £15,000, had won shows in New Zealand for his jet-black wool.
Leading vets had demanded the Secretary of the Environment to ‘commute Geronimo’s death sentence’ so that he could be studied rather than euthanized.
