Moreover, Iain McGill asserts that the case could highlight large numbers of false-positive tests in cattle, and accused the government of "trying to kill its way out of trouble".

[8] As a result of the positive tests, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ordered the destruction of the animal to prevent spread of the disease.

[11] The official spokesman for the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said that "The Environment Secretary has looked at this case very carefully, multiple times over the last few years, and has interrogated all the evidence with expert vets alongside the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

[12] Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, supported Geromino's euthanisation, saying he did not "think we can make an exception" with regards to Geronimo's case and that "there's no alternative, sadly.

[14] An open letter by a group of senior members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) expressed "grave concerns" over the British Government's handling of Geronimo's case.

[15] A petition urging the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Defra to halt Geronimo's killing[16] was signed by more than 140,000 people as of 25 August 2021[update].

Mr Justice Griffiths said he had a "great degree of sympathy for her" but stressed the need to protect against the "serious consequences" of bTB, adding: "This is not a case in which the wishes and feelings of Miss Macdonald can be paramount.

[17] Mrs Justice Stacey ruled against the injunction on the grounds that there was "no prospect" of Macdonald succeeding in her attempt to reopen the earlier decision of the High Court.

[27] A request made by Macdonald for an independent vet to attend the post-mortem was denied by HM Government Legal Department, prompting her to accuse Defra and APHA of concealing their processes and acting without transparency and fairness.

[31][32] Macdonald stated on 16 September that Defra had not provided her with details of how Geronimo was euthanised, and accused it of trying to hide information that would be contrary to its claims of the alpaca having bovine tuberculosis.

[34] A more detailed post-mortem report, released to Macdonald in September 2021, stated that the lesions found on Geronimo's neck area were atypical of bovine TB and there was "an occasional low number of red blood cells" in his lungs.