A fee-paying school in south Dublin has discontinued an alpaca programme on its farm after one of the animals died and tested positive for tuberculosis (TB).
Two veterinarians had previously warned the school against including alpacas in the farm, due to the animals being high risk for TB, a serious illness that mainly affects the lungs.
In October 2023, Castle Park School in Dalkey had announced two alpacas had arrived as part of a farm project in which children would learn about alpaca welfare and husbandry.
But in a communication to parents last December, Stephen McKernan, the principal of the school, said Pippa, one of the alpacas, became unwell with a lung infection and had to be euthanised.
How is Storm Éowyn impacting Dublin? More than 40,000 properties without power
Cabinet appointments criticised as only three women become Ministers
Storm Éowyn: How the day before the red alerts unfolded
Businessman Paddy McKillen ‘became aggressive’ with bailiff at luxury €30m Paris apartment, French court hears
He said a postmortem examination would be carried out to identify the sickness and said updates would be provided to pupils’ families.
In an update on January 22nd, Áine Ní Neachtáin, chairwoman of the board of the school, told parents they had received confirmation the alpaca tested positive for TB.
“The UCD vet, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Health have all confirmed that the risk of further spread is extremely low, and that we have pre-emptively taken all recommended measures for safety and sanitation. They do not recommend any additional actions at this time,” the email said.
Ms Ní Neachtáin confirmed eight staff members and all other farm animals were tested, all of whom returned negative results.
Despite the educational benefits of having animals in the school, alpacas will not be returning to Castle Park
She said the school has “thoroughly sanitised” all areas associated with the alpacas and a specialist external contractor completed a thorough spot disinfection, with additional disinfection of the farm area due to be carried out this weekend.
“Public Health officials have assured us that these steps go above and beyond any actions they require us to take,” she said.
Dr Lauren Popiolek, and Dr Joanna Potter, veterinarian surgeons, wrote to and met those in charge at the school on a number of occasions, from as early as December 2021 when planning was under way, stating TB was an “unavoidable risk factor for alpacas and unacceptable exposure for children”.
“Ireland is endemic for TB, mostly because of badgers. Ireland and the UK are two countries who just haven’t eradicated it,” Dr Popiolek told The Irish Times. “The test for TB isn’t good enough when they’re [alpacas] carrying the disease because there is a one-in-three false negative rate.”
The school conducted a risk assessment, acknowledging the risk of TB. As a result, it introduced mitigation measures such as the wearing of protective equipment such as gloves and wellies as well as informed consent.
Following the death of the animal in December, the school announced there would be no more alpacas in the school. The other alpaca has been returned.
Further to this, Ms Ní Neachtáin’s update said the school farm was “under review” by the senior management team and the board. An “update will become available in the coming weeks”.
In a statement, the school board said the school had worked closely with the Departments of Health and Agriculture. It was sorry to lose the alpaca, and “despite the educational benefits of having animals in the school, alpacas will not be returning to Castle Park in the future”.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
