AlpacaKeep
Keeping alpacas in Switzerland involves more than finding a field and a shelter. Before the animals arrive, you normally need to register the holding, arrange the required certificate of competence, and make sure the enclosure meets the minimum welfare rules. Once animals are on the holding, you need a current animal inventory, correct microchip identification, movement documents and medicine records.
The system has one easily misunderstood feature: the holding receives a TVD number, but an alpaca's individual chip number is not separately reported to the TVD. That does not mean there is no record-keeping duty. Your own animal inventory and movement documents provide the traceability.
Last checked: August 2026. This guide is based on current federal guidance from the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO/BLV), the Tierseuchenverordnung (TSV) and the Tierschutzverordnung (TSchV). Cantons handle registration and enforcement, so confirm the procedure with your cantonal veterinary service. This is practical information, not legal advice.
The answer in 30 seconds
Before the alpacas arrive
Register the holding with the canton
Alpacas and llamas are treated as cloven-hoofed animals for Swiss animal-disease control. A holding must therefore be registered even if you keep only two animals as pets. Report a new holding, a change of keeper or the closure of a holding to the competent cantonal office within three working days.
The office name and form vary by canton. Registration gives the holding a TVD number, which you will need on movement documents. The TVD number identifies the holding; it does not mean each alpaca's chip is entered in the national database.
Check the training requirement
The person responsible for a herd of up to ten livestock units normally needs a recognised Sachkundenachweis, or certificate of competence. For alpacas and llamas, the rule does not start at a particular number of animals: it can apply to a pair.
The certificate can be obtained through a recognised course or practical placement. A relevant agricultural qualification may replace it, and people already registered as keepers before 1 September 2008 do not have to complete it retrospectively. Ask the canton or an FSVO-recognised training provider which route applies to you.
The microchip rule
Alpacas and llamas born in Switzerland on or after 1 November 2022 must be microchipped no later than 30 days after birth. Animals born before that date do not have to be chipped retrospectively under the transitional rule.
For an animal chipped in Switzerland, the chip is placed on the left side of the neck, about a hand's breadth in front of the shoulder blade, and checked immediately with a reader. The chip must comply with the required ISO standards and use the Swiss country code. There is no ear-tag alternative for camelids.
When buying an animal, do not rely only on a sticker or a handwritten number. Scan the animal, compare the result with the sale and movement documents, and save the number in your own records.
Who may implant the chip?
A vet may implant it, as may a suitably qualified professional. A competent keeper may also implant chips in animals from their own holding. Official guidance describes competence as veterinary instruction, enough supervised practice and regular experience-not simply having the equipment.
Microchips are supplied through vets. For a small herd, having the vet chip the cria is usually the simplest route. If you want to do it yourself, agree the training and procedure with your vet and cantonal veterinary service first.
TVD registration and your own animal inventory are different things
This distinction matters:
- The holding is registered and receives a TVD number.
- The individual alpaca chip number is not reported to the TVD. Current federal control guidance states that camelids born from 1 November 2022 must be chipped but are not individually registered in the TVD.
- You still keep an animal inventory. Federal guidance requires keepers of cloven-hoofed animals to maintain a current list of the animals present and their arrivals and departures.
Use the FSVO animal-inventory template or an equivalent system that can produce the same information. For practical identification, record at least the animal's name, chip number, date of birth, sex, origin and arrival or departure date. Keep the inventory and supporting movement documents for three years.
This is a good place for herd software, but the software does not replace the legal document. Make sure you can export or print the required information if an inspector asks for it.
Moving an alpaca to another holding
When a camelid moves to another holding, the keeper at the place of origin completes a Begleitdokument, or movement document. For a chipped alpaca, include the chip number. The document also identifies the origin and destination, the date and the health declaration required by the form.
The document travels with the animal and is generally valid only on the day of the move. Multi-day events and summer grazing have specific exceptions when the animal returns to the original holding and the details remain correct. Keep the documents and copies for three years.
An animal that should be identified may not be moved to another holding without that identification. Before a sale, show, mating visit or boarding stay, scan the chip and prepare the paperwork while the animal is still in the pen.
Minimum space and everyday welfare
Swiss law requires alpacas and llamas to live in groups with their own species. A sexually mature male may be housed alone only if he has visual contact with other alpacas or llamas. Tethering is prohibited.
The statutory minimum areas are:
Offspring up to six months old may share the same enclosure without being counted in this table. The enclosure must also provide a dry, bedded or otherwise insulated lying area, daily outdoor access for several hours, and somewhere to rub or roll. Barbed wire is not permitted, and if the enclosure provides only the minimum area, its ground must be suitably surfaced. Water and roughage or pasture must remain available.
These figures are minimums. They do not tell you how much land is needed to grow enough forage or prevent mud and parasite pressure; that depends on soil, rainfall, slope and how you rotate the paddocks.
Medicine records
Swiss medicines law treats domesticated camelids as food-producing animals, even when you keep them for fibre or companionship. Keep a treatment journal for medicines subject to record-keeping and an inventory when those medicines are held in stock. Record the animal, treatment dates, reason, product, amount, withdrawal period and the person who supplied it. Retain the records for three years.
Your vet can provide the current federal templates and confirm the correct withdrawal period. Never assume that a pet use of the animal removes these duties.
A practical setup checklist
- Contact the cantonal veterinary service and register the holding.
- Confirm whether your qualification or experience satisfies the training rule.
- Check the enclosure, shelter, fencing, water supply and group composition.
- Start an animal inventory before the first alpacas arrive.
- Scan incoming animals and match each chip to its documents.
- Arrange for every Swiss-born cria to be chipped within 30 days.
- Keep movement documents and medicine records together for at least three years.
If you buy from abroad, use the FSVO import database and contact the cantonal veterinary service before paying a deposit. Import conditions depend on the country, purpose and current animal-health situation, so a seller's previous experience is not a reliable substitute for a current official check.
Sources & Further Reading
- [1] Federal Council: Tierseuchenverordnung (TSV), SR 916.401 - holding registration, animal inventory, identification, movement documents and retention periods.
- [2] Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO/BLV): Llamas and alpacas - current federal overview of husbandry, identification, medicines and training.
- [3] FSVO/BLV: Animal movement control - registration, identification, animal inventories and official templates.
- [4] FSVO/BLV: Handling veterinary medicines - treatment journal, medicine inventory and federal forms.
- [5] Federal Council: Tierschutzverordnung (TSchV), SR 455.1 - training, husbandry rules and minimum areas in Annex 1 Table 6.
- [6] Veterinary Office of the Canton of Bern: Identification requirement for Old and New World camelids - concise official explanation of the 2022 chip rule and the absence of individual database reporting.