We are not classed an animal sanctuary,  but operate as a small diversification of our farm.  On occasions we take in llamas and alpacas that we have either rescued from neglect or from situations where their previous owner’s circumstances have suddenly changed and llamas or alpacas are in urgent need of re-homing. Many we take have never been handled and are very wary of a new environment and people. Some are in need of veterinary attention, fleece/foot management and others some simple tlc! 

When taking in rescues or re-homing llamas and alpacas, we isolate them from our herd for a period of time.  This allows us to assess their health, behaviour and develop a plan of rehabilitation and structure their training. Some we take, have never experienced concentrated feed, some have never been fed hay or had any form of medical care or human handling. Others arrive who have been incorrectly handled (generally through lack of knowledge), causing them to have behavioural issues, which require correction. We carefully assess everything, to ensure the animal is allocated a correct welfare and training plan.  A bit like rescue pets home!

As we are not subsidised in any way, all costs are covered through our trekking revenue and small gift shop.  We simply cannot take every llama or alpaca in that we are alerted to, as we prioritise our own herd in terms of the cost of their welfare. If we feel it is financially not possible, we try to sign post elsewhere to ensure that animal/s receive the right care.

Our llamas and alpacas are loved and cared for as individuals, no matter where they are from or their history. Our homebred llamas and ones purchased, who enjoy their interactive life here on our teams, do eventually start to retire. The retirement process generally starts part-time, before moving on to permanent retirement, it all depends on health, age and mental attitude. There is no specific age to retire llamas or alpacas, they are just like humans, some retire younger due to health issues, others who can, love to continue until a little later on in life. Our retired animals still require everything they have been used to over their career and often the expense of keeping the retired animals can be much higher, than before they retired! Like humans the older they become, the more they may develop health problems. Commonly, teeth and jaw issues, aching muscles, sore joints or sometimes much more complex health problems. Veterinary costs can be much higher along with supplements and other medications to maintain the good welfare of our retired residents.

The llamas and alpaca whilst engaged on the trekking teams, help towards the cost of their own welfare, plus they can be adopted too, of which all adoption fees go directly to their keep, but for the ones who can’t engage due to retirement or rehabilitation, it is tricky to find funds at times to meet their needs.    

We strive to ensure we can keep our retired members and are rescues/rehabilitation animals, as happy and comfortable as possible. However, since the effects of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, customer footfall has massively reduced, yet the cost of feed, medication and equipment and general items to maintain the farm have increased, making it now much more difficult to find funds to do so.

We have been very grateful to many regular, loyal customers who have previously donated and every penny goes directly to the llamas and alpacas welfare.  Any contributions are really appreciated, from a small cash donation, to purchasing a 20kg bag of feed (£28), 100mls of anti-inflammatory (£50), 3KG of joint supplements (£25) or even a micro-chip! (£5), every bit helps!

If you wish to contribute, please use the contribution button and please pop in a message with your name and email, so we can return a huge ‘thank you’ and show our appreciation.   We do put updates on our social media channels about our retired animals and those we take in, so please do follow them.

Alternatively, if you prefer to contribute towards the welfare of one of our team members and receive something in return, then please click on our adoption tab and browse all the adoption packages, there are many to choose from and this way you can fulfil a lovely present or simply receive something in return for yourself from any of the llamas or alpacas you might just have that ‘soft spot’ for!

All that’s left for us to say is,  ‘Thank you’ for reading this, we appreciate your support, no matter what form it comes in, donation, adoption, trekking or our gift shop! Thank you from all the human team and all the llamas and alpacas too!