THEY look like llamas, they are part of the same family as camels, yet they are reared and cared for like sheep. Now Scotland is set to find its first champion alpaca.
The undoubtedly cute creatures – apart from their occasional habit of spitting – are being more frequently sighted on the hills and glens of Scotland as the number and size of herds expands.
Originating in South America and related most closely to the vicuna, alpacas have been bred and reared in Scotland for their meat and especially fine wool for a number of years, and numbers have grown so much that the Scottish Alpaca Group is able to host its first championship show.
The event will take place at Lawrie and Symington Mart at Muirglen in Lanark tomorrow, starting at 9am. More than 100 alpacas will be on display, and the event is the direct result of a smaller show at last year’s Scottish Smallholders and Growers Festival at the same venue.
Scotland’s first such championship is being held under the auspices of the British Alpaca Society (BAS) which has 1,400 members representing 35,000 alpacas across the UK. The BAS also maintains a pedigree register for all alpacas in Britain.
As well as the animals themselves, the Lanark show will contain displays of alpaca goods, with many items made from the yarn produced from alpaca fibres. Admission to the show is free but donations can be made to Marie Curie.
Scottish Alpaca Group secretary Pauline Robson said: “Alpaca numbers are increasing in Scotland with new farm enterprises starting up and this show will be the place to go to find the animals, the breeders and the processors. You will find that alpaca people are very enthusiastic about their animals and are usually happy to talk all things alpaca from dawn until dusk. But be warned – alpacas are addictive.”
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