When
selling or offering for sale any llama the signatory member of the
British Llama Society undertakes:
1.
To give
appropriate advice and full information on the pros and cons of
owning llamas to any purchaser
2.
To
offer purchasers after-sales advice, whenever needed, particularly
concerning care and welfare
3.
To give
full and appropriate advice on choosing the right animal for the
purchaser´s intended purpose
4.
To
declare any known faults in conformation or temperament which could
hamper or obstruct the purpose for which the llama is purchased
5.
To not
knowingly offer cross-bred, in-bred, or infertile stock, or related
pairs without declaring them as such
6.
To
provide purchasers with a full record of the animal´s breeding and
veterinary history, including worming, vaccinations, etc. as far as
they are known
7.
To
ensure that purchasers understand that, if they have more than one
entire male, the males will need to be kept separately if within
sight or smell of a female
8.
(a)
That crias will not be bottle-fed/ hand-reared except in
life-threatening circumstances, in which case the fact that an
animal has been reared in this way will be declared to a potential
purchaser
(b) To
explain to all purchasers of camelids which are capable of breeding
that, although bottle-fed/hand-reared youngsters are extremely tame
and friendly when small, they are very likely to become extremely
difficult to manage when they mature
(c) To
explain that any male camelid which has been reared in this way
should be castrated at between six and twelve months of age but that
castration might not necessarily prevent such problems
(d) To
request all purchasers of animals capable of breeding, to pass on
this information (*a-c) to anyone who might buy from them in the
future
9. Females
sold as pregnant are declared -
(a)
Confirmed pregnant: only following a blood test or
ultrasound scan and there has been no reason to suspect a
miscarriage
(b)
Believed pregnant: only when mating has been witnessed
and subsequent putting of the male to the female has been witnessed
and not resulted in further mating
(c)
Possibly pregnant: where no mating has been witnessed but
an adult female has been running with an adult male
10. To
advise purchasers
(a)
that female camelids should not be intentionally mated until they
have attained at least 60% of their likely adult weight or be at
least eighteen months of age
(b) that it
is possible for mating and conception to occur at as young an age as
nine months and that this is detrimental to the well-being of the
female. This must be borne in mind if young males and females are to
be kept together
11. To ensure that when declaring that an animal is
handleable or halter-trained, the animal can be led and the halter
be easily put in place, with minimum stress to animal and/or handler
12.
To ensure suitable transport is provided for the llamas
Signatories to
this code are duty bound to not sell llamas...
... without
ensuring that purchasers understand the long-term commitment
... as being
“easy-to-keep” without making it clear that all livestock needs
daily observation, care and attention, and can be subject to health
and other problems
...without
making every effort to ensure that the new home offers adequate
grazing, shelter, fencing, and fresh water, etc.
