Alpacas are a South American camelid and are often confused with Llamas; though both come from the same area they are different species of the Camelidae family.  Alpacas have been kept for thousands of years, for both their high quality fibre and their low fat meat.  It is fair to say that Alpaca meat is still not widely available in the United Kingdom, but is known for being low in fat and cholesterol as well as high in protein; it has been marketed as the ‘healthy’ alternative to beef.