The fluffy pets that lived on 73-year-old Kjell’s farm mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday last week. Something he discovered when he went out in the morning to feed the alpacas.
– I didn’t think it was true at first. Inside the paddock stood a lone alpaca that remained.
Stolen alpacas
Now he has strong suspicions that the alpacas have been stolen.
– The fence was open and there were footprints in the snow towards the house where the alpacas are kept. There were also car tracks that had turned just before the paddock and backed up to the opening, says Kjell.
He has had six alpacas on the farm. Pelle and Sigge, who are now gone, were two stallions and lived together with a third alpaca who is a neutered stallion.
– We have the other three closer to the houses. I don’t understand why they didn’t take all three over there. If they didn’t manage to catch it or had room for more than two maybe. The two they took are two stallions and maybe that’s what they were looking for.
“May have been eaten”
Since so much time has passed since Sigge and Pelle were stolen, Kjell begins to doubt and worry that they will be found.
– It could actually be that someone has slaughtered them. Normally we don’t eat alpacas but there are those who do anyway. So they may have been eaten.
The theft has been reported to the police. However, Kjell has not given up all hope of reuniting with Sigge and Pelle. Among other things, he has been in contact with people in alpaca groups on the social media platform Facebook and appeals to the public to keep their eyes open and alert the police if they see anything.
You have alpacas as cozy pets. What is the stolen value of the animals?
– Our alpacas are not worth more than perhaps SEK 15,000 to 20,000 each. But there are those who are worth 100,000, who are breeding steers. So there can be a lot of money in an alpaca.
It is not entirely easy to catch and take away an alpaca if you do not have experience.
– Alpacas are not completely tame. So they must have been a couple of three to be able to catch them and maybe have a clue how to catch an alpaca too. So you catch them like the neck and hold them around the neck when you take them.