Australian alpaca numbers near 400,000 after baby boom
26th May 2023
Australia has the second-largest alpaca herd in the world behind Peru, but most still view the leggy camelids as the stuff of hobby farms.
Alpacas were introduced to Australia about 25 years ago and were initially primarily used as livestock guardians. Paddocked with sheep, they will kick and chase dogs and foxes that get too close to the lambs.
There were 350,000 alpacas in Australia in 2021, according to a report by Agrifutures Australia, and, after a baby boom fuelled by ideal breeding conditions, the herd is on track to reach 400,000.
Amee Dennis, who has 110 alpacas at her family farm in the central west of New South Wales, is among those who see the animals as a secondary income source. “We got our first alpacas close to five years ago, purely as guards for lambs,” Dennis said.
More:
https://woolnews.net/2023/05/26/australian-alpaca-numbers-near-400000-after-baby-boom/
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