Animal Rescue Organization

The Llama Sanctuary

a registered charity dedicated to the rescue, re-homing, rehabilitation and retirement of llamas and alpacas

“Let Care & Compassion be our Legacy”

The New Llama Sanctuary

Helping llamas is not a fringe endeavour, it is just one arm of the rapidly growing compassion and desire to help this planet and all life upon her. The Llama Sanctuary fulfills our collective desire to help and nurture the animal kingdom. You are an integral part of this community effort and we depend upon your support and the generosity of others like you.

Following a huge upheaval in 2022, The Llama Sanctuary relocated to the Recline Ridge Ecopark in Tappen, British Columbia. Since then, the Sanctuary has been entirely rebuilt, a further 29 llamas and alpacas have been rescued and a new Cat Sanctuary has been created.

Your donations are always put to good us

Come and see for yourself!

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SPOTLIGHT

What's happening in The Llama Sanctuary

NEW Easy Online Booking

Want to visit The Llama Sanctuary? Try our ridiculously easy online booking form!

Book Your Visit

CATS2 Cat Sanctuary OPEN

The CATS2 Cat Sanctuary provides short and long-term foster care for lost and rescued kitties, waiting to find their Forever Home. Looking for a new feline friend? Give us a call

The Inky Tribe Rescue

Eight llamas were reported to be roaming wild in the Southern Okanagan. Some people loved them, others did not. At least one was causing a nuisance near some horses. After several of the llamas were killed, The Llama Sanctuary received permission to catch the rest. Four handsome males were safely rescued and brought to The Sanctuary. They will be looking for a new home, but will require someone who has the time and energy to assist with training before they leave.

Farewell Mr Brownie

With very heavy hearts we recently bade farewell to our dearest llama friend Mr Brownie. A more gentle llama could not exist than Brownie, who came to The Llama Sanctuary with his friends in Mikey & Sylvie in 2017. Severely crippled when he arrived Mr Brownie lived a happy life, well past expectations and was a favourite with visitors. RIP my friend

An Alpaca Love Affair

An alpaca love affair blossomed at The Llama Sanctuary and touched so many hearts it reached the mainstream news! Read the story and prepare to have the ‘cockles of your heart’ warmed!

Read on CBC News

Hay Loft Complete

The massive project of rebuilding The Llama Sanctuary has been non-stop since The Sanctuary moved to it’s new location at The Recline Ridge Ecopark in Tappen, BC just one year ago. Thanks once again, to the Home Building Center in Salmon Arm, we managed to scrape together enough funds and lumber to complete the building of the back wall and hay loft in the Refirmary. We still need another 300 bales of hay to fill it

Donate Now

Mackie Tribe Rescue

Ten llamas and alpacas were among the many animals collected by The Llama Sanctuary in March, as part of the response to a hardship case. Six intact males and 4 females living together have made for some wild and dangerous herd dynamics and the male alpacas require much training before they are considered safe for visitor interaction. This is also a HUGE vet bill.

Donate to Help The Mackie Tribe

Juniper & Saffron

These two ladies arrived in September. The Sanctuary was asked to find a home for them, but since they are in their senior years they will remain in Sanctuary care.

Donate to Help Senior Llama Care

Bad Boy Gabe

Young Gabriel recently arrived at The Llama Sanctuary due to some extreme behaviour issues! He’s good with people and easy to handle, but he cannot live with other llamas, sheep, horses or any other large animal. If you would like to work with Gabriel and can provide a suitable home, we would love to hear from you.

Donate to Support Gabriel

FUNDRAISING

Animal Rescue & Care is a Community Effort

Huge Fencing Project

The past two years have been non-stop building of barns and shelters. Now we need to restore the land element and construct a lot of new fencing to keep the llamas safe.

$13,500 is needed to build 2400 feet of new fencing this summer. Please donate if you can!

Your donations are always put to good us

Come and see for yourself!

Donate Now

Rescue & Rehab

This is the ‘Bread and Butter’ of The Llama Sanctuary – responding to requests for help, either by finding new happy homes for llamas and alpacas or rescuing llamas who are in urgent need of help or catching animals that have escaped or have nowhere to call home.

They all have a story to tell

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CATS2 Cat Sanctuary

Cat Shelters are overflowing with cats needing homes, CATS2 is a ‘no-kill’ facility dedicated to longer-term foster care & socializing for kitties who need a little longer to adjust to life with humans as well as disaster relief assistance.

A Desperately Needed Facility

Donate Now

More Ways to Donate

There are so many ways you can help The Llama Sanctuary. Volunteer your time and energy! Adopt a llama and be it’s carer right here at The Sanctuary. Buy some feed or hay, sponsor a gate or a bench in memory of a loved one, whether human or animal. Click on the button below to explore more ways you can help.

Donate Now

VISIT THE LLAMA SANCTUARY

see for yourself what goes on at The Llama Sanctuary

Book Your Tour Now:

Call Us

Email to Book

BOOK ONLINE

Feed the Llamas

The Llama Sanctuary is open to visitors every day of the year. Located inside a gated park, booking your tour ahead of time is essential. You can usually book the same day you wish to visit, but we still need to know you are coming!

A Guided Tour enables you to meet and feed the 60 or more animals at this beautiful scenic location in the Shuswap region. The llamas and alpacas are ready to share some love ..and carrots! Schools and group visits welcome. Wheelchairs are welcome, although not all areas may be accessible. It pains us to say that we do not have disabled toilet facilities at this time. Call or email us today or use the online booking form.

Visit The Llama Sanctuary and feed the llamas

Meet The Residents

What to Expect

Visitor's Gallery

The Llama Sanctuary is a memorable experience

Everyone agrees that school field trips to The Llama Sanctuary are the BEST

llama taking a carrot from a young girl's mouth

What Drives Us

Our Mission

Encourage the philosophy of Care and Compassion

Aid and deliver animals in distress

Facilitate education

Share the joy of llamas!

What is The Llama Sanctuary?

helping people helping animals

What we do

Our Services

Rescuing

Situations can suddenly arise in life that pull the rug from under one’s feet. Illness, accident and family situations are not uncommon that mean animals that were previously loved, no longer have anyone to care for them. There is never judgement. Give us a call. We can help.

Retirement

Age or infirmity creeps up and requires that you downsize your home, meaning your camelid companions cannot come with you. Maybe they are elderly or you wish to ensure they receive the special care they deserve. The Llama Sanctuary is equipped to provide for special needs.

Finding a Home

It is not possible to keep all of the llamas that come to us, but we have connections and work hard to find the most appropriate placement for the younger and healthy animals. If you need help in finding a suitable home for your herd of llamas or alpacas, let us know. The elderly and those animals requiring special care remain forever at The Sanctuary.

Emergency Evacuation & Respite

If you are evacuated due to forest fire, flood or other natural disaster, we may be able to assist in providing a home for your alpacas and llamas. Other temporary care taking services can also be provided. If we can help, we will. Just ask.

Disaster Evacuation Assistance

Getting Involved

Saving Animals

Why Save Animals?

You might have noticed the huge increase in animal societies and rescue organizations. This is a direct result of an increasing compassion that is being felt by the people of this planet. This compassion is finding expression through such advocacies as cleaning garbage from the oceans and reducing our use of fossil fuels. This is just the very beginning of a tidal wave of awakening that is occurring, together with a realization that we SHARE this planet with other life forms that have as much right to live as we do. Having developed a passion for llamas and alpacas, life has directed us to provide a special home for those camelids who require assistance.

Browse

Why Make a Donation?

Not everyone is in a position to care for animals, nor perhaps have they the experience or inclination to do so. Donating is a way of sharing the burden of cleaning up the mess of human existence and caring for those we might have harmed along the way. The costs of running a large animal shelter are considerable and the hours required to manage all of the animals and all of the enquiries often stretch beyond the hours available. It is a passion that rises from the soul and often demands everything one has and more. We get down on our knees and beg for a penny here and a saving there to try and make ends meet. And we appreciate every word of encouragement and every penny that is offered.

Ways to Donate

Learn

Llama Adoption

Adopting vs Buying

Not all llamas require shearing. The majority of the llamas that come through The Llama Sanctuary are Ccara llamas, which have a coarse guard hair covering a soft under-down. If you are hoping to use fibre from a llama, then the ccara llama is not for you! Also, many of these animals have not been trained or have experienced some form of abuse or neglect and require time and handling to acheive trust and respect. If you require a well trained llama that produces beautiful fibre for spinning, we recommend that you buy from a respected fibre llama breeder.

Interested in Adopting llamas or Alpacas?

Animal Welfare & the Law

Canada has a long way to go to reach standards of animal welfare found in other nations, but laws still apply and are improving each year. Where natural compassion and respect are absent or lacking in an animal keeper, then the law can force the keeper to provide proper care or force them to surrender the animal.

Read the Full Article

Llama Care Advice

Sponsor a Llama

No room for a llama?

Sponsor one at The Llama Sanctuary instead

Sponsor a Llama

CATS2 Cat Sanctuary

Now Open

CATS2 Cat Sanctuary

CATS2 has been open for over a year now and has done a great job.

New ideas have arisen and it’s time for an upgrade in order to provide long term foster care for 4 separate cat groups. $7000 is required to provide a new, larger, wrap-around, kitten-proof enclosure with 4 large, all-weather outdoor spaces. If you love to help kitty cats, please consider donating now!

Donate to CATS2

More News on Facebook

Get Involved

If you would like to get involved and help at The Llama Sanctuary, we would love to hear from you. Serious enquiries only. This is not a holiday camp!

Become a Volunteer

Contact Us

Upcoming Events

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Visiting The Llama Sanctuary

If you are in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, join us on a Guided Tour of The Llama Sanctuary. Meet the llamas, hear their personal stories, feed them and love them. Read reviews from previous visitors. This is not a petting zoo, it’s an interactive and unforgettable experience for the whole family!

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Emergency Training Event

We have been asked to run a training event for RCMP, SPCA, vets and others who occasionally encounter llamas in their professional lives and wish to learn more about handling, haltering and directing camelids. If you are interested, please let us know!

What an amazing experience! Surrounded by so many llamas, so peaceful and serene. You don’t feed them over a fence, you get right in amongst them. I was afraid they would spit at me, but they sniffed my hair, gave me sweet kisses and gently took carrots from my 3 year old daughter’s hand. It was not at all what I was expecting. There were quite a few who were injured or sick and are lovingly cared for at this wonderful place. I will be back.

Steph

LLAMA GALLERY