OK, so they're cute. But llamas have their uses

Eleven years ago Paul and Judy Rose were out in Peru backpacking. As they sat outside a hotel admiring a view of the mountains, a llama wandered up and sat next to them. And so a great love affair was born.

Today in the steep-sided valley behind their Cotswold home, they have one of the biggest herds of llamas in Europe. Judy stares pointedly at husband Paul and says, "I think somebody got a bit carried away."

The Roses, of Temple Guiting, Gloucestershire, have more than 60 llamas, which they keep for breeding. The couple have grown accustomed to the sound of squealing brakes as trippers stop and reverse for another look.

"Most of the villagers are fascinated by them," says Paul, 47. "If they have weekend visitors they'll bring them to have a look. But some of the older people think it's all very strange."

Llamas certainly look strange, especially a herd of them in a Cotswolds field. They're very attentive, watching every move you make with big doe eyes. Occasionally they make a faint, high-pitched moaning sound.

Judy Rose says they take little looking after. "If there's not much grass, we supplement a bit of concentrate - a sort of llama mix with the minerals they need.

"They come from Peru where there are huge extremes in temperature, so most of the time they're fine outside. We've had one heavy snow when we put the new mums away, but they don't have to have shelter - only in very harsh conditions like a blizzard."

The Roses wince when asked the question they most often hear. Don't llamas spit at you?

"Ask anybody about llamas," says Judy, "and all you hear is, 'Oh yes, they're the animals that spit.' We really have to overcome this misconception."

"They're a herd animal with a pecking order," adds Paul. "If any of them try to change that order they'll spit at each other. But they hardly ever spit at people.

"They're very gentle and intelligent - and fun. In the morning they'll all be sat down and they won't just be anywhere. They'll either be all in a straight line or in a circle, or some sort of very geometric formation. And if you see them in a line it's very often by size - it's rather curious."

They obtained their first breeding pair when they moved from London nine years ago and bought the manor house in Temple Guiting and 15 acres of land. There were no "Teach Yourself Llama Farming" books, so they learnt as they went along.

Apart from the llamas being much in demand at village fetes, the Roses sell them in Britain and abroad, male llamas starting atpounds 500. Paul Rose admits they are a hobby run riot - the day job is running a publishing company - but he believes llamas are more than just a passing fad. He is keen to promote them as a farm animal, but has had a negative response from farmers.

"One of the problems with them is that you can't breed up quickly. With ostriches you can make yourself a financial plan - that this year you'll have so many eggs and then next year it will multiply to such and such. Llamas only have one baby a year, and not every year. I still think they're a long-term commercial proposition, but I'd say very long term."

They're eaten in South America, but here they're too expensive to make rearing them for meat viable. So what exactly are llamas good for?

The British Camelids Limited Owners and Breeders Association has some 200 members, who own around 2,000 llamas nationally. To many, they're simply nice to have around, to keep the horse company and show at game fairs. Some have found other uses. Retired turf contractor Mike Spooner and his wife Jennifer offer visitors llama-trekking trips on the South Downs in summer.

"It's mostly a weekend occupation," says Mrs Spooner, who keeps eight of the animals. "We've found it very popular, particularly with people who come from London and want to do something a bit different.

"Llamas are very sure-footed. Adults can carry 100lb and because they have small feet with a leathery pad, they don't cut up the paths like heavier animals."

But can llamas pay their way on a farm? One farmer who thinks so is Jamie Freeman, from Headcorn in Kent. He had a terrible problem with foxes - one year he lost between 30 and 40 lambs. Then he read an article extolling the virtues of llamas as guards. So Jamie bought a llama called Lawrence from the Roses two years ago.

"After that I didn't get any problems. Llamas mark their territories with their dung and then stake out the field. If a fox comes into a field the llama will scare him away by walking up and staring him out. They can use their back legs, and will spit, but that's a last resort."

Another use for llamas, andtheir cousins alpacas, is the fibre from their coats. It is much softer and finer than wool and because each strand is hollow, garments made from it are very warm.

Retired jeweller Peter Knowles-Brown, who farms 1,000 acres near Moffat in Scotland, keeps llamas and is convinced they offer a commercial future for him.

"I'm a hill farmer - it's just sheep on a very limited income, and with the threat of subsidies going, two-thirds of my income will disappear. I have to find alternative farming.

"Llamas are fantastic farm animals. I have 35 llamas and from them I reckon I could get the same income as I can out of 500-odd sheep."

Members of the British Camelids association pool their fibre together in 50 kilo loads. They are turned into yarn then into sweaters and cloth.

So far the use of llama fibre to make garments in Britain has been very small scale. And according to Dr Angus Russel of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen, it's likely to stay that way.

"We have come to the conclusion that fibre is not a viable option for UK farmers. I don't think the fibre from llamas or alpacas is of a sufficiently high quantity to attract the price necessary to make it commercial. The cost of keeping them would outweigh the value of the fibre.

"But there's no doubt they're well suited to conditions in the UK; they survive in some pretty tough parts of the country.

"Most of the people who keep them are pretty well-heeled. If they want to have the company of llamas there's nothing wrong with that. They're super animals - and there are many worse ways to spend money."