Last ditch legal fight to save Geronimo continues

Owner Helen Macdonald seeks temporary injunction to halt killing

Geronimo the alpaca with its owner Helen Macdonald. (Jacob King/PA)

A court will decide on Wednesday whether the killing of Geronimo the alpaca can be temporarily halted while more evidence is assessed.

The animal, which is due to be put down after testing positive for bovine TB, has become a cause célèbre in recent weeks, with 130,000 people signing a petition for its execution to be stopped.

The furore started after the pet’s owner Helen Macdonald, of Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, claimed the tests for the disease can return false positives. She lost her final appeal earlier this month, forcing her to seek a temporary injunction to halt its destruction.

The judge will determine whether or not to grant the request after a hearing at 3.30pm on Wednesday afternoon.

If Mrs Justice Stacey rules against the pet’s owner, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be allowed to slaughter Geronimo.

Earlier this week, the judge was told by Ms Macdonald’s lawyer, Catrin McGahey QC, that nine other animals had shown no signs of bovine TB after being euthanized following a positive test result.

She said: "That information absolutely should have been before the two (previous) judges.

"We don’t know if there are more than nine camelids ... what we do know is that Defra holds this information."

In response, Ned Westaway, representing Defra, questioned the truth of Ms McGahey’s assertion, calling it "speculation".

"The suggestion of material non-disclosure is, frankly, unfounded,” he added.

The judge asked Ms Macdonald’s lawyers to clarify which evidence it wished Defra to produce and to estimate how long this process would take.

Geronimo will not be killed until the injunction issue is resolved, Mr Westaway promised.

Additional reporting by PA