With all the effort and care that goes into caring for alpacas, stories like this one just beggar belief.

This story was on the Google alert for alpacas today.

A man had been charged with nine counts of animal cruelty after deputies found two dead alpacas and squalid living conditions for five neglected alpacas and two dogs at the property he rented.

Deputies were called to the farmhouse after the woman who owns the property discovered the neglected animals while attempting to evict him and his family, a deputy’s report said.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived that evening to discover five alpacas living without food or water in a cramped, feces-laden pen inside a garage, adding that the animals had very little room to move and their toenails had almost grown together.

Two dogs infested with fleas were also found roaming the yard that day, when temperatures approached 90 degrees. A dog warden seized the animals, which were underweight, while the living alpacas were placed at another alpaca farm in Lorain County, Resendez said.
Deputies that day also discovered the charred remains of two dead alpacas on a burn pile behind the garage.

I don't know the how or why of this story and perhaps thats just as well. But its atimely reminder to us all that not everyone has the same standards of care when it come sto alpacas.

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