Missing herd of alpacas found

A HERD of stolen alpacas have turned up – less than a mile away from where they disappeared.

The Evening News told yesterday how the animals vanished from their field near Uphall, with police suspecting thieves used a truck to whisk them away.

The 11 alpacas and two llamas had become a common sight on the hills around owner Fiona Wallace's Longmuir Croft home and their disappearance on Sunday night left her "devastated".

But today she told of her delight at discovering the animals grazing quite happily behind a hedge.

Police today confirmed they were still investigating the incident as a crime, though why they were taken remains a mystery.

Mrs Wallace, 65, said police suggested to her that animal rights campaigners may have freed the creatures.

She told how she went out to search the surrounding countryside for her pets and spotted what she believed was an alpaca head disappearing behind a hedge.

"When I looked over the hedge I was amazed to see all of the animals there, grazing quite happily," she said. "They were in a little gully behind the hedge, so they couldn't be seen easily and it was lucky that I spotted them.

"We know the farmer who owns the field and he was stunned as well, as he had been out earlier in the day and hadn't seen them."

Mrs Wallace said she was just delighted to get the animals back, but was surprised when police mentioned animal rights campaigners may be involved.

"It wouldn't seem to make any sense, as if they just let them out they could easily have been killed on the roads," she said.

Libby Anderson, political director of animal rights campaigners Advocates for Animals, said the incident may have been caused by "extreme, misguided" campaigners, but condemned the action.

"You do hear about this from time to time, and there was an incident with a deer farm a few years ago, which led to some of the animals being killed on the roads, but that kind of action is terribly misguided," she said.

A police spokeswoman confirmed that they were still investigating the incident.

"The animals have been found safe and well, which is obviously good news for the owner, but we are still investigating this as there is evidence of a crime," she said.

"As well as the gate being smashed, the animals appear to have been carefully herded or transported."

• www.lbp.police.uk