Alpacas Fend Off Foxes at Highgrove
by Bonnie Alter, London on 06.16.08
During a recent visit to Highgrove, Prince Charles' organic farm, the guide very proudly announced that they had not lost any lambs this season. Everyone oohed and aahed very knowledgeably, but this Treehugger didn't know what they were talking about... Now the story is becoming clearer: the Prince keeps 4 South American alpacas which are used to fend off the foxes that eat the lambs at Highgrove. Since the banning of the fox hunt, there are lots of foxes around and they are killers. The alpacas are the new guardians of the Prince's 450 organic sheep: they regally confront foxes, chase them and try to trample or kick them.
Alpacas are related to camels, and are domestic animals reared mainly for their fine wool. They look like a cross between a small llama and a large sheep and can grow to 6ft tall. They look all fluffy and adorable but can be very fierce. They come from the Andes in Peru and their wool is used for all those colourful Peruvian ponchos and hats. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was surprised when asked whether using alpacas was cruel to foxes. “Using an imported South American camel to chase British foxes is so bizarre, we have not even thought about it.” :: Times
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I think alpacas are gorgeous and surely it's less cruel than hunting them? and what about the cruelty to the lamb being torn limb from limb?
That's ridiculous, how could a fox take down an alpaca. Foxes don't even kill if they don't have to.
The article in the Times was a little misleading to say the least. Alpacas are not in fact 'fierce' at all- they are timid animals, and they are not inclined to act as unintelligent 'bouncers' 'kicking' or trampling' any innocently passing fox.
We have been farming a her of over 150 alpacas in Warwickshire for 11 years, and not once have we had any hint of an injured, let alone found a totally trampled dead fox. When a fox enters a field of alpacas the herd moves towards the fox (sheep will move away). This unusual action usually prompts the fox to run. The alpaca 'guardians' do massively reduce the predation rate, but only as they will react to the fox entering the field. They are not aggressive animals and so in no way fight the foxes off the sheep.
For more information see www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk