GERONIMO could be “denied a funeral” in a final insult to the pet alpaca who was forcibly put down by government officials.

       Mourning owner Helen Macdonald fears she may never be able to bury her beloved pet as the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs refuses to hand over his remains.

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       Helen fears Geronimo will never get a funeral Credit: PA 5

       The alpaca was put down on August 31 Credit: PA

       The farmer claims that Defra has insisted on holding on to the animal’s body for reasons related to TB.

       Helen told The Daily Star: “They incinerated the ‘carcass’ as they referred to him.

       “They wanted me to arrange for him to be put to death so they could say I consented.

       “They told me to tell them when he was dead so they could collect the ‘carcass’.”

       But, in a final insult to the animal - who DEFRA denied a third TB test while still alive - Helen won’t even receive the alpaca’s ashes.

       Devastated Helen is also concerned Geronimo could have been accidentally throttled by Defra officials.

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       The veterinary nurse believes Geronimo was “suffocated and strangled” in the horse trailer officials took him away in, adding that she has not seen “video footage to the contrary”.

       The farmer believes Geronimo should not have been led from her farm in Gloucestershire with a rope around its neck, but instead in a head collar.

       Commenting on the way Geronimo was conducted from the farm, The British Alpaca Society branded it “startling and totally inexcusable”.

       Put to death

       The news comes soon after Helen Macdonald claimed Geronimo did not have Bovine Tuberculosis before he was sentenced to death.

       The eight-year-old alpaca was "executed" on August 31 Defra officials in hazmat suits stormed the Gloucestershire farm after the animal tested positive twice for Bovine TB.

       After a stand-off at the gate to Geronimo's farm, officials and 15 cops in a riot van made their way to capture and take Geronimo away.

       Despite the panicked alpaca trying to evade the Defra hitmen, he was eventually caught and driven away in a horse box to be put to death.

       Following Geronimo's death, his over Helen claimed that a preliminary post mortem suggested he was not showing signs of Bovine TB.

       The full results could take up to three months to reveal whether Geronimo had the disease or not.

       Lawyers acting for Helen confirmed the owner had received a letter from the Government Legal Department containing the preliminary findings.

       A statement added: "As reviewed by Dr Iain McGill and Dr Bob Broadbent, the preliminary gross post-mortem findings are negative for visible lesions typical of Bovine Tuberculosis."

       The team said there were typical symptoms of TB in the animal - including enlarged abscesses in the lungs.

       Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Christine Middlemiss said: “We have completed the initial post-mortem examination of Geronimo.

       “A number of TB-like lesions were found and in line with standard practice these are now undergoing further investigation.

       “These tests include the developing of bacteriological cultures from tissue samples which usually takes several months - we would expect to complete the full post-mortem and culture process by the end of the year.”

       They confirmed more testing is now.

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       Helen fears Geronimo was strangled in the horse box he was led away in Credit: PA

       Helen Macdonald fought to keep the alpaca alive 5

       The animal was loaded into a horsebox and driven off under police escort Credit: SWNS

       Geronimo the alpaca killed after trying to escape hazmat-wearing Defra team as TB legal row ends