Following the failure of the UK Government to stop the unnecessary killing of Geronimo the alpaca, the owner of Geronimo has called for the resignation of George Eustice. So please sign this petition if you fully agree with her that George Eustice needs to go.

There have been other petitions over the years voicing no confidence in George Eustice, yet he’s still in charge at DEFRA.

The UK government has failed to listen to nearly 150,000 people who signed the petition to save Geronimo. They have also failed to respond to letters from prominent animal rights campaigners and leading vets. There was no need to kill Geronimo, he could have been retested, which would have settled the matter. But George Eustice and DEFRA stubbornly refused.

George Eustice has handled this matter in a disgraceful way. Even when one of DEFRA’s former top vets wrote to the government, (along with others), to say they had grave concerns about the test, they still refused to halt the killing. The photos and video footage of DEFRA dragging a frightened animal away today was shocking and distressing. This cruelty should never have been allowed to happen, in a civilised country where we have numerous laws to protect animals. 

If, like me, you’re disgusted with the way DEFRA (and the UK government) has acted, then please add your voice to this petition. Please sign if you believe that George Eustice is NOT competent to be in charge. 

Also, please be aware that I’m not in any way connected to the owner of Geronimo, nor do I know her supporters. In fact I’ve never started a petition before - and I don’t habitually sign them either. I am not an animal rights campaigner. I don’t keep any animals either. So, why start a petition? Because, like many other people, I believe the killing of Geronimo was wrong. 

Geronimo wasn’t the only alpaca to die at the hands of DEFRA. Other alpacas and camelids have been killed, even though they weren’t infected with TB. We need to STOP this from happening. George Eustice must be removed from his job. Because we need someone in charge who will LISTEN to the concerns being raised by vets, campaigners and camelid owners about testing. 

For Geronimo’s sake, and for all the others before him, please sign the petition.

RIP Geronimo.
Killed 31st August 2021, in the UK.

Added 19 September 2021

Further Reasons For Signing This Petition:

Whilst this petition was originally started in response to the tragic killing of Geronimo, there are numerous other reasons to consider. I will briefly mention here some examples of things that DEFRA is allowing to happen, whilst George Eustice is in charge.

ANIMAL CRUELTY: 

We need to bring about change because DEFRA are responsible for allowing the killing of birds and other wildlife, (as well as cattle and other farm animals). Many animals that are NOT infected with disease are being killed, even though they don’t pose any risk.

Did you know that DEFRA allows the shooting of wild parrots, jays, magpies, Canada geese and other birds? The new General Licences run from 1st January 2021. These permit anyone to kill them without having to prove to DEFRA that the birds are causing a nuisance. DEFRA has also failed to bring in legislation to stop business establishments from installing bird mesh and spikes on buildings. These deterrents can cause suffering and death to all types of birds.

They have also refused to ban a pesticide which is known to be killing bees, even though it has been banned in other countries.

You might also want to sign because DEFRA have been culling thousands of badgers for a number of years. They still continue to do this, even though there isn’t any strong evidence to show that culling is working. The badgers culled aren’t even tested for TB, just shot. DEFRA claims they are being killed humanely. There is nothing humane about wiping out complete families of badgers, when they could be vaccinated. Boris Johnson pledged to end this and bring in vaccinations. But with Eustice at the helm, DEFRA have failed to act on that pledge. Thousands of people have signed petitions against this, but so far George Eustice has refused to put a stop to this massacre of our wildlife. 

POLLUTION:

DEFRA is also responsible for our rivers. Perhaps we should be asking why George Eustice has been so slow to act to stop water companies from discharging raw sewage into our rivers? This has been happening for many years. There have been television documentaries about this, and lots of news coverage. 

Because I want to keep this as brief as possible, I have only listed a few reasons here for you to consider. DEFRA is responsible for the Environment, Food, Farming, Fishing and Rural Affairs. It wouldn’t be appropiate to go into detail about ALL their policies, especially about farming and fishing, because this would then be a very lengthy post.