Alpaca Trekking in the UK

Alpacas are the one group of domesticated camelids that have not traditionally been used as a beast of burden and therefore they have not had thousands of years of selective breeding to trek, unlike the Llama. That being said it has been known for many years that alpacas can be halter trained and will walk on a lead rope quite easily.

Alpaca walking/trekking in the UK started with one breeder in Chichester in around 2006 and has gradually built up to become a regular and enjoyable activity for many alpaca keepers and their guests all over the UK. Trekking has become the foundation of a number of new alpaca businesses.

Today there are many centres offering alpaca trekking , so while it has lost a little of its uniqueness, it is introducing many more people to these fascinating animals.

A few things to consider if you are thinking of entering the alpaca trekking world are:

· Public Liability insurance is essential

· An animal entertainments licence from your local council is required

· Proper risk assessments are needed

· Safe places to walk – with the land owners permission are essential

· Sufficient (normally male) alpacas to be able to walk and have time to rest ( not all alpacas will walk well with visitors)

There are many other elements that are needed to make a successful trekking enterprise. BAS also has a code of conduct for alpaca walking business and it’s a good idea to sign up to this which will demonstrate that you are doing things in the right way..