Meat and Hides

An experiment based on 20 llama males and 40 alpaca males reared in Peru has been carried out with the aim to evaluate the live growth performances, carcass quality, the nutritional characteristics of meat from animals slaughtered at 25 months of age, and to determine the physical and chemical parameters of meat obtained from these animals. The live body weights registered during the 25 months of the experiment were significantly lower in alpaca compared with llama. In llama carcasses were significantly higher both warm and cold carcass weight (P more »

Increasingly, the focus is on accelerating genetic improvement, aiming for improved fertility, higher fleece weights, finer fleece and robust animals with higher carcase weights. Whilst the market has focussed on stud sales during the establishment phase of the industry, there is increasing emphasis on production traits as the industry moves towards commerciality. Ultimately, as in their native home of Peru, alpacas will be bred for fleece, meat and skins and Australia seeks to position itself as an international market leader in all production traits. more »

The sustainable expansion of the Australian alpaca industry, predominantly a pasture based system, requires the development of a market for meat in addition to traditional fibre to improve commercial returns. Establishment of an alpaca meat industry will likely increase the demand for otherwise unprofitable animals and lead to genetic gains across the industry. For successful entrance into the competitive red meat market, it is important that key production traits common to red meat industries, such as beef and lamb, are taken into consideration to ensure the supply of a consistent quality product. However, there is a paucity of information on alpaca meat, especially in terms of carcass composition and yield, and the impact of gender and age on these traits. Producers and processors now have information which will assist in predicting the carcass yield and meat quality traits of alpacas of differing sex (female and castrated male) at three age periods (18, 24 and 36 months). This information will be beneficial to the on-farm and processing aspects of the alpaca meat supply chain. more »