TB outbreak sees eight llamas die and 27 put in isolation

A llama farm owner has been left 'heartbroken' after losing eight animals to tuberculosis (TB) in a week - forcing the business to shut down for most of 2026. Lisa Fox said seven of her llamas were culled on her birthday after testing positive for disease under instructions from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The devastating outbreak began when a llama named Stardust fell ill and later died with a post-mortem confirming TB, triggering urgent testing across the herd. The results showed seven more animals were infected - leaving Lisa with the hard decision to have them put down to protect the rest of her animals. A further 27 llamas remain in isolation, with fears they could also be culled if future tests come back positive. Lisa who owns Briery Hill Llamas in Newent, in the Forest of Dean, said: "As a family we are devastated after losing eight llamas to TB. "We have been offered no help by the government bodies and we are now closed down for practically the whole of 2026. Stardust was the first llama that became ill on the farm. He passed away the post-mortem showed it got TB. "We then had a first set of testing that resulted in showing that seven of our llamas being positive with TB. It meant that all of those llamas had to be isolated and had to be put down. The reason why I did it was for the rest of the herd because I love our animals so much I don't look at them as property. "We just lost sleep over it. The effect on your mental health - there's no words. It is like living in a nightmare and you just hope you are going to wake-up but the problem is that it's real. Not being able to do what you love doing is shattering. There needs to be more government support, now we are just left in the cold." The entire family-owned farm, which also has pigs, and cows was subjected to mandatory TB testing by the Animal Plant and Health Agency. But the main income of the farm is the experiences with llamas including llama trekking and therapy work with the llamas. Lisa is now unable to offer these experiences until further rounds of clear TB testing are completed in the rest of the herd - set to be by the end of 2026. Although compensation is available for culled animals, Lisa says it does not cover veterinary bills or the wider financial losses. She said the vet bill for Stardust was nearly £15,000. But no additional support has been offered despite the farm losing its main source of income. She said: "The APHA sets a standard payment for animals culled due to TB, but this amount does not even clear the vet fees resulting from Stardust's illness. "It also does not account for the time, breeding, expertise, and care invested in working with Stardust and all the other beautiful llamas we have lost." The family has even had to borrow money from relatives to install electric fencing in a bid to reduce the risk of the disease spreading further. With their business effectively on hold, Lisa says the emotional and financial toll has been overwhelming. "You lose sleep because you think how are we are going to live?" she said. "Now we have 27 llamas left but we are not allowed to work with those llamas from a point of view of bringing people in. If the public comes to the farm they have to be three meters away from the llamas - well but that’s our business gone. "The main part of the business is llama trekking, llama afternoon tea. I have a certification as an animal assistant intervention specialist. They are such gentle animals and they have now taken away all of our income." Lisa fears that the other llamas might have to be put down although they tested negative for the first round of tests. The llamas have to wait until July 10 for a skin test followed by a blood test 10 days later which gives a better picture of the results. But Lisa says they can take up to 30 days to come, but even if they come negative they will need to wait 90 days and do the tests again. If they are positive they need to be put to sleep. Lisa said: "Until you have two rounds of clearance - that’s by the end of 2026. They need to change the way they test, so rather than 90 days they need to bring it forward to 60 days because it is not helpful. "Stardust, The Pocket Rocket, Merlin, Rossi, Dylan, Troy, Querrida, and Baloo brought joy to many people and gave our family so much happiness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government provided grants to businesses. "We are expected to continue with no income and with no financial support from the authorities, despite our grief." Lisa has set up a GoFundMe page to at least cover the cost of feeding the animals and paying veterinary bills while their llama trekking business is closed: https://www.gofundme.com/f/our-llamas So far they have raised over £6,500. According to Defra, the rapid removal of any animal that is infected with or suspected to be infected with TB is vital in order to quickly contain the disease and to protect other animals and protect other livestock nearby. The Government pays compensation for any animal compulsorily removed to control TB. Llama and alpaca owners can take measures to help reduce their risk of TB through voluntary movement testing and seeking support from the TB Advisory Service, it says. A Defra spokesperson said: "We appreciate the difficulty of these situations, and our sympathies remain with all those with animals affected by bovine tuberculosis. This is a serious disease that causes devastation for farmers and rural communities and is why we must have measures in place to reduce the risk of the disease spreading. "The government pays compensation for any animal compulsorily removed for TB control purposes."