Alpacas, New World camels from South America, are the aristocrats among all farm animals. They are the national treasure of the peoples of South America. They have only been native to the western world for a few years and are increasingly conquering hearts and pastures in rural areas.
Valuable breeding animals fetch high prices worldwide in a market where demand is higher than supply. Breeding these noble animals on the one hand and producing or having something valuable made from the precious wool fiber on the other - is something special!
Advantages of alpaca fur:
- warm and comfortable
- breathable and lightweight
- non-inflammable
- free from dust mites, therefore suitable for asthmatics and allergy sufferers
- without oils (lanolin) and animal fats (not like sheep's wool)
- without the use of formaldehyde in the manufacturing process
- produced without chemical dyes and bleaching agents
- contain natural resins that protect the wool against ageing and dirt
- environmentally friendli
- 100% natural product (production of the fiber in an organic way)
- fair trade production
Until twenty years ago, alpacas were only kept in zoos in Europe. Although there were repeated attempts by Europeans and Australians to import alpacas from South America for breeding purposes, no one succeeded in doing so until twenty years ago, apart from the Englishman Sir Titus Salt, who imported alpacas to England around 1850. Only since 1984 has it been possible to import alpacas from Chile, and since 1991 from Peru.
Even today, it is not easy to import Huacaya and especially Suri alpacas. Countries such as Chile and Bolivia have restrictions and quarantine regulations that have to be taken into account, and of course importing them is also very costly in terms of capital and time.
In the USA, Canada and Australia, there has long been a professional market for alpacas. There, 15,000 - 25,000 US dollars are now paid for high-quality pregnant mares. Although there have been alpaca breeders in Europe for 20 - 30 years, most of them were hobby breeders who often held on to their females, so that a market was very slow to develop. This has now changed.
In Bolivia, Chile and Peru, alpacas are kept like sheep here. They are shorn regularly and slaughtered when necessary. Their meat is eaten and tastes similar to sheep meat. As the animals reproduce very slowly, only the oldest animals are slaughtered. All of the alpaca's fur (wool and skin) is used for the production of bear or baby fur. Young animals are shorn and used to make hand-knitted wool.
Only skins from animals that have already been slaughtered are used for the production of FOSTAC® alpaca bears.