ALPACAS SHOCKER Mis-sold as bling for gardens

UNWANTED alpacas are being offloaded on Facebook and Gumtree as owners realise they can’t cope.

Rescue worker Dianne Summers, who has rehomed more than 400 alpacas in a decade, has seen cases TRIPLE in the past three years.

Dianne, 60, said: “People are being sold them as pets that you can keep in the garden. This is totally wrong, unless you have a two-acre garden.

“Alpacas aren’t cute things that can be stroked and cuddled like a cat, dog or rabbit. They’re lovely animals but they aren’t easy to look after and are difficult to handle. You wouldn’t buy a cow or a sheep from Facebook to keep in your garden.”

Hundreds of the animals – a South American breed related to the llama – are up for sale online, exchanging hands from £150 to up to £4,000.

But new owners often panic when they see how much effort is involved.

Dianne opened Little Hamlet Alpacas Rescue Centre in Gwennap Pit, Cornwall, in 2008 after losing half her own herd to Bovine TB. The OUR vet Brian Faulkner, from Petplan, has 16 years of experience and is a freelance working all over the country. Send your questions to Brian at: Petplan, Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9DX or via Petplan’s Facebook page facebook.com/ PetplanUK. RSPCA then asked her to rehome six neglected alpacas and her rescue work began. Between 2008 and 2014, she took in 171 of the animals. But in the past three years, she has had to care for 234, almost 80 per year.

Cases range from heartbreaking neglect to decent owners no longer able to care for their animals.

She said: “Sadly there are breeders out there who put financial gain before the welfare of these beautiful animals and that breaks my heart.

“I hear of them being sold in car parks, being walked at fairgrounds, left alone in gardens and just being completely exploited.

“I’d never sell an alpaca but I do rehome them to those I trust to care for them properly. Only two cases out of ten pass the criteria to be a rehomer.”

As they are herd animals they should be kept with other alpacas. But they do not mix well with other pets.

Dianne added: “An ideal owner is someone who only wants them as pets and will learn to look after them correctly. People love their appearance but understanding how to look after them is so important.” WHAT’S the least traumatic way to cut my rabbits’ nails? I’ve noticed they both get very distressed and hate it when people try to hold them?

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