Statement

First of all, we would like to thank those of you who are showing great solidarity and community spirit in these trying times. As the government has said, things will get harder before they get better and it is through supporting each other and not being selfish that we will get through this.

Secondly, we would like to reassure everyone that, according to current research, animals cannot catch it from us nor transmit it. Current transmission is exclusively human to human. See OIE statement at the bottom for further information.

With that in mind, we have already started some changes:

• Postpone all care home visits; much as the distraction of visiting alpacas would be welcome to residents, we think it is important to protect the vulnerable as much as possible and minimise external risk.
• Postpone all school visits.
• All events have also been postponed, so we can avoid mass gatherings.
• Reduce walks to private groups only. We still require a minimum of two alpacas to be booked, but you will be the only ones on the walk at that time.
• Wash and disinfect lead ropes at the end of every walk.
• Require anyone with any symptoms, no matter how mild, to reschedule.
• Request that people wash their hands upon arrival and before leaving.
• Request that walkers respect a 2m distance between themselves and ourselves.
• Provide exterior handwash facilities.

Due to the circumstances, we are unable to provide any toilet facilities. Please bear this in mind when planning your journey.

As we operate entirely outdoors, we can all maintain the required 2m between visitors and ourselves very easily. There is a far lesser risk of catching something from someone when outside. Light exercise, fresh air, sunlight, vitamin D are all good to help strengthen an immune system. We are also a family-run business, meaning we don’t currently have any employees and, as such, do not have anyone coming and going from the premises other than ourselves. This means that we have more control over hygiene practices and it eliminates any external factors.

In the event one of us comes down with symptoms, become infected or the government impose complete isolation for everyone, we will issue vouchers to all booked walks. Vouchers are valid 6 months, so will be redeemable at your convenience. Hopefully, once the worst is past, we can welcome you back to the farm to meet our alpacas.

Please remember that while you may feel that some of these measures are draconian, we have a farm to run and animals who rely on us for their food and daily care. If you turn up with a cough, or very mild symptoms, and we end up in bed, we will have no-one to call upon to assist us with our daily chores.

If schools are required to close in the future, you might appreciate somewhere in the great outdoors you can take your children with minimal risk, so let’s all work together to be sensible and considerate.

We will, of course, update and change these measures, in line with government advice.

With that in mind, let’s look at the positives: white we were closed during lockdown, we had 5 lambs born on the farm and even picked up a cade lamb (who’s mother rejected him) and successfully adopted him onto one of our ewes.
We welcomed our first cria of the year at the end of April, to Arabesque, followed by another female cria to Blossom. Both Blossom and Arabesque, along with their babies have moved out. It’s always heart-wrenching to see our much-loved animals leave, but we ensure they only go to the very best of homes, and this was no exception. We have plenty more cria due throughout the Summer, so plenty of chances to spot one when you come for a walk.
For us, this lockdown was farm business as usual, just minus any human interaction!

We have tried to be as detailed and transparent with you as possible, to give you the confidence that we are taking appropriate steps to ensure everyone’s safety.

We hope this has been helpful for you. Please do get in touch if you have further questions. In the meantime, we will try our best to keep you updated through daily Stories both on Facebook and Instagram.

You can find more information about animals and Covid-19 here: https://www.oie.int/scientific-expertise/specific-information-and-recommendations/questions-and-answers-on-2019novel-coronavirus/