What is Friendly Alpaca Fur?

 

Friendly Alpaca Fur 

All teddy bears, figures, and other fur products offered by Inca Fashions® are lovingly handmade in Peru from Friendly Alpaca Fur.

 

Friendly Alpaca Fur means that alpacas are never harmed to gain their fur or “pelt.”

In Peru, alpacas are raised so that their fleece can be shorn year after year providing a dignified livelihood for ranchers, their families, and their workers. 

Culturally, Peru has a significantly different perspective about raising alpaca and husbandry, than we do here in the United States. Veterinarian services are rare and too expensive for most Peruvian alpaca ranchers. So they do their own care, and they are quite good at it. Still, they incur more natural losses of their animals than breeders in the U.S. Some of this is by design. Peruvian alpaca breeders are looking for the strong “macho” alpaca to achieve maturity, in order to create a strong herd for the future. This is why they offer very little preventative care for young alpacas. 

Sometimes young animals die naturally due to sickness, extreme weather changes, genetics, or an accident. This is a costly loss to the rancher. He minimizes his loss by using the alpaca for food and its pelt.

Alpacas are always most valuable when they are alive growing their soft fleece! That’s what all alpaca breeders strive for. Nothing makes an alpaca rancher happier than to see their crias achieve maturity to become successful providers of fiber and future alpacas.