Shearing an alpaca: the do’s and don’ts
Sometimes, being a researcher is repetitive and boring — all those lab tests and mice studies. And sometimes, being a researcher means shearing alpacas for science.
If you’re not familiar with alpacas, they are camel-like animals native to South America, and they are known for their high-quality wool. To collect this wool, of course, you need to shear the animals, just like you do for sheep. In a study published today in Veterinary Record, researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna tested three different ways of shearing alpacas and recorded how the animals reacted, all in hopes of finding out the least stressful way to do the deed. (The study was partly funded by organizations that I did not know existed but am…
