Introduction
Alpaca Facts
Ways to Own
Tax Questions
How to Get Started
The Alpaca as an Investment.
Introduction
Why do people in so many countries call alpacas the world's finest livestock investment?
For any investment to be valuable, it must possess certain qualities which make
it desirable. Gold is scarce, real estate provides shelter, oil produces energy,
bonds earn interest, stocks are supposed to increase in value, and diamonds symbolize
love. Alpacas share many of these investment attributes. Around the world, alpacas
are in strong demand, and people pay high prices for them. They are scarce, unique,
and the textiles produced from their fiber are known in the fashion centers of
Livestock, or animals raised for profit, was an investment long before financial
stocks were sold on the New York Stock Exchange. The richest families of ancient
times counted their wealth by the size of their flocks of sheep or herds of cattle.
Today, wealth as a result of livestock ownership is not as common, but tending to
a graceful herd of alpacas can also be an exciting way to earn a substantial cash
flow and live a rewarding lifestyle.
Alpaca breeders enjoy nurturing their animals every bit as much as receiving the
profits they provide. The man who created the Beefmaster cattle from imported Limousine
stock made the following observation: I know a lot of doctors and lawyers who would
like to be cowboys, but I don't know any cowboys who would trade places with them.
A retired doctor who is now a full time alpaca breeder had this to say: I would
rather raise alpacas than anything I've ever done. Breeding alpacas is a labor of
love and very profitable.
Since 1984, alpacas have appeared, almost simultaneously, in several countries where
they had never been seen before. The
