London, UK – A final death sentence has been pronounced for the beloved alpaca Geronimo.

Geronimo the alpaca, whose ongoing plight has captured the attention of the UK and animal rights activists worldwide, will be slaughtered after his owner lost a last-ditch High Court bid to save him.

The alpaca has twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis and, as a result, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has ordered his destruction to prevent the spread of future illness.

The fate of the alpaca had recently made headlines beyond England and sparked protests in London.

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His owner Helen Macdonald, who imported him from New Zealand, believes the tests returned false positives, but has been refused permission to have him tested a third time.

Macdonald has received an outpouring of support from the public, with more than 130,000 people signing a petition calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to halt the killing.

Earlier this month, she lost her final appeal to save her beloved pet at the High Court in London and a warrant was signed for his destruction.

On Tuesday, an urgent application for a temporary injunction to halt the enforcement of the destruction order was considered by Mrs Justice Stacey at the High Court in London. However, the judge said she would need further information from Macdonald and from government lawyers before she could make her decision.

When the hearing was resumed in court on Wednesday, the judge refused the urgent application and concluded there was "no prospect" of Macdonald succeeding in her bid to reopen a previous ruling that would have spared the animal again.

At Macdonald's farm in the West of England village of Wickwar, about 30 alpaca breeders, residents, and activists had recently come together to guard Geronimo around the clock. The supporters wanted to oppose the killing squad for the alpaca – if necessary, with roadblocks and barricades.

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Macdonald's lawyers told the court Geronimo has been in isolation since he first tested positive for bovine tuberculosis in September 2017.

Ned Westaway, representing Defra, told the court the agency would give Macdonald the opportunity to make her own arrangements for Geronimo's death.

Macdonald told the Guardian she and her supporters would try to protect the animal without breaking the law, and that a security camera would live stream any attempt by authorities to execute the warrant.

Last week the government insisted all the evidence on Geronimo's condition had been "looked at very carefully."

A Defra spokesperson said on Wednesday: "There are no plans to execute the warrant today. We are sympathetic to Ms Macdonald's situation, just as we are with everyone with animals affected by this terrible disease.

"It is for this reason that the testing results and options for Geronimo have been very carefully considered by Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, and its veterinary experts, as well as passing several stages of thorough legal scrutiny.

"Bovine tuberculosis is one of the greatest animal health threats we face today and causes devastation and distress for farming families and rural communities across the country, while costing the taxpayer around 100 million pounds (or about $137 million) every year.

"Therefore, while nobody wants to cull infected animals, we need to do everything we can to tackle this disease to stop it spreading and to protect the livelihoods of those affected," they finished.

Originally from the South American Andes, alpacas are now commonly bred throughout the UK and Europe for farming and tourism.