Animal rights protesters have marched on Downing Street today to protest the UK government’s decision to cull an eight-year-old alpaca called Geronimo after the animal tested positive for TB.
At the Downing Street rally on Monday, wildlife protection campaigner Dominic Dyer insisted that Boris Johnson had the power to intervene and get Geronimo retested for the disease, as he said there was “nothing stopping him” from stepping in.
He urged Mr Johnson’s wife, Carrie Johnson, to make sure her husband takes action because as a conservationist, she “cares about this”.
The animal has found itself at the centre of a row after it was ordered to be put down by the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) after twice testing positive for bovine tuberculosis.
Geronimo’s owner, Helen Macdonald, believes the tests are returning false positives, but has been refused permission to have him tested a third time.
A petition started to stop the culling of Geronimo has now reached 100,000 signatures.
