Help Emergency Responders Learn About Alpacas

Special Message from GIRCom

Any disaster—whether it’s a fire, flood, hurricane, or tornado—can catch you off guard and put you and your alpacas in danger. This message is a reminder that the more prepared you are for a disaster, the better your chances of protecting your alpacas and keeping them safe.

Many emergency responders in our communities are not aware of the alpaca farms within their areas of responsibility. Likewise, those who operate livestock evacuation centers may not have any knowledge about how to care for alpacas.

One important step you can take before a disaster strikes is to educate emergency responders in your community—including firefighters, local emergency management agencies, agricultural extension agents, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) leaders—about the alpaca farms in the area. Make sure they understand that alpacas are livestock that may need to be evacuated and cared for during emergencies.

The following article provides general information about alpacas that you can use to start this education process. Sharing it will help ensure that alpacas are included in your community’s disaster response plans. The article can also be shared with local and state officials, as well as others, to raise awareness that livestock owners in their jurisdictions include alpaca owners.

Please help us increase awareness of alpacas by distributing the article "What are Alpacas?" to emergency responders and officials in your community.