It's the bitter stand-off that has pitted Boris Johnson against an alpaca - but who will come out on top?
Last week, animal rights campaigners jumped to the defence of Geronimo after the beloved pet was condemned to death.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has ordered the creature be put down after he twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.
However, owner Helen Macdonald, 50, has refused to let her furry friend die, claiming the tests were botched and attracting a wave of support from celebrity fans.
As tensions mount at Helen's Gloucestershire farm, a 'firing squad' has been sent packing by fans forming a human shield, while protesters have also stormed Downing Street on behalf of the doomed animal.
Here is how the saga of Geronimo has played out.
'I'll stand in the way of any gunman'
Six-year-old Geronimo has lived on Helen's farm in Wickwar, near Bristol, since arriving in the UK in August 2017.
During that time, he has been in quarantine with five other alpacas.
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The stud had tested negative for bovine TB in New Zealand, but when Helen agreed to a voluntary test as part of national surveillance of the disease the result came back positive.
Defra decided to conduct a second test in November 2017, which also came back positive, and Geronimo was earmarked for slaughter.
Yet Helen refused to give up on the pet, taking her case all the way to the High Court in a desperate last bid that ended in failure earlier last week.
The four-year battle has reportedly left the vet drowning in £50,000 legal fees.
Now a warrant has been signed for Geronimo's destruction and the Government reportedly has 28 days from last Thursday to carry out the killing.
Defra has now warned Helen it will come to the farm to kill the alpaca if she fails to carry out the warrant, but she has pleaded with Boris Johnson to spare its life.
She told The Sun : "I can’t stand by and let my animal be killed and I’m willing to stand in the way of any gunman who comes to destroy Geronimo.
“They’ve picked on the wrong woman. There is no way that I will put him to sleep.”
Alpaca 'must be killed'
The High Court has ordered Geronimo to be destroyed due to bovine TB, although Helen claims the positive tests were faulty.
She says that alpacas with TB usually only last a few months, but it has been more than four years since Geronimo tested positive.
But the Government on Monday insisted the rules that mean the alpaca should be killed must be followed.
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. This is something the Environment Secretary has looked at very carefully.”
George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, has said it may be “soul destroying” but that it was the right decision to kill an animal if it stops a disease from spreading.
He said that he has looked into the case of Geronimo in detail and said statistically that the tests given to him were 99 per cent accurate.
Helen said: “We are just asking to have him tested with something appropriate. I get they have a policy to follow but there are other ways, and they don't have to kill him. He is safe in isolation here.
“No one has died here from TB in four years, so I just don't understand why it has to be this drastic.”
Annette Beverage, an animal welfare campaigner, told the Mirror: “It’s about the rights of that animal. I think it will resonate with animal lovers all over Britain, because we are a nation of animal lovers.
"This is the catalyst. This is the time for change and we need to look at these tests.
“With TB tests there are a lot of false positives. How many animals are actually being slaughtered unnecessarily? There is something fundamentally wrong here.”
Furry friend has celebrity fans
Geronimo's case has received the support of celebrities including actress Joanna Lumley and Springwatch host Chris Packham, while 90,000 have signed a petition to ask Boris Johnson to step in.
Joanna said: “When in doubt, don’t. So please spare Geronimo, as there is real doubt hanging over this death sentence.”
Meanwhile, Chris said on Twitter : “Quick question, what do you think will happen if Geronimo is euthanised today and the post mortem shows he doesn’t have bovine TB? Won’t that be a PR and policy disaster?”
Over the weekend, even the Prime Minister's own father, Stanley Johnson, joined the calls to spare the alpaca.
Writing in The Sun, Stanley said: "Can Geronimo’s judicial execution be avoided even at this late stage? I hope and believe it can.
"My message to the Rt Hon George Eustice, MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is: 'Tear up that threatening letter, Minister. Write another one, a nice friendly one. Give Geronimo a new test.'
“That’s all Helen Macdonald wants. Is that too much to ask?”
Asked about the intervention by the PM's father, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News: "I'm not sure where Stanley's coming from on this.
"My understanding is that the alpaca was tested positive for TB and the rules are that they have to be culled, because bovine TB is really, really damaging to farmers and people who make their livelihoods in agriculture and that's why we have the policy."
"It's obviously difficult because there's a lot of people invested emotionally in a story of an animal, but there's a policy and there's no reason why the policy shouldn't be stuck to."
'Human shield' fends off firing squad
Since the death warrant was issued, a tense stand-off has played out at Helen's Gloucestershire farm.
Two officers from Avon and Somerset Police arrived without warning at the farm gate on Friday evening, as they reportedly explained how Geronimo would be humanely killed.
Helen feared the visit might have been the end for her famous friend.
She said: "Two officers turned up to the farm as they wanted to make contact and see what type of opposition they might be met with and if they would need organised back up.
"It was a bit of a recce it seems. They did say it would not be done today, but didn't know anything else about timings etc.
"We did not know they were coming so everyone shot down the drive with their cameras. I asked if they had a warrant, which they didn't, and they then asked if they could speak to us without cameras.
"They had a chat with me and my family for about 15 minutes and then they left.
"They were just testing and wanted to see what the set up was, how many people were here and what type of opposition they would face."
Supporters have since set up a "death watch vigil" at the farm, with guardians keeping watch from deckchairs.
A dedicated band of loyalists has kept a constant eye on the main gate, while others have sat in cars on the driveway.
Campaigner Dominic Dyer also said around 50 locals have set up a "peaceful human shield" around the alpaca, according to The Independent.
Meanwhile, dozens of animal rights protesters marched on Downing Street over the weekend in a bid to save the creature's life.
The protest march started at Defra headquarters in central London and headed to Number 10. Around 30 supporters took part in the protest.
Hen Staveley-Brown, who started the campaign, said: “We just feel that Geronimo doesn’t have a voice. We need to give him that voice.”
Helen has also vowed to broadcast his last moments on social media if the killing goes ahead.
As the world watches, the fate of Geronimo hangs in the balance.
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