Alpacas, llamas and unusual livestock: is it agriculture
Alpacas kept for fleece are livestock and the land stays in agricultural use. Alpacas kept as pets or for trekking are neither, and that changes what you can build.
Alpaca keeping planning questions turn on one word in the statute: purpose. Section 336 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 defines agriculture to include the breeding and keeping of livestock, and livestock means any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for use in the farming of land. Alpacas and llamas are shorn for fleece, so alpacas kept for fibre are livestock and the land remains in agricultural use. Alpacas kept as companion animals, or for paying visitors to walk with, are not kept for any of those products, and the land is no longer in agricultural use.
Same field, same animals, same fencing. A different answer depending on why they are there.
The statutory definition, read carefully
The definition does two things. It lists activities that are agriculture, including horticulture, seed growing, dairy farming, the use of land as grazing land, and the breeding and keeping of livestock. And it limits livestock to creatures kept for particular outputs.
That limitation is what excludes riding horses and pet animals. It also means the analysis has to be done animal by animal and purpose by purpose, rather than by asking whether the activity looks like farming.
| Animals and purpose | Position under the definition |
|---|---|
| Alpacas or llamas kept for fleece | Livestock, so agriculture |
| Alpacas kept as companion animals | Not livestock, so not agriculture |
| Goats kept for milk, meat or fibre | Livestock, so agriculture |
| Sheep, pigs, cattle, farmed deer | Livestock, so agriculture |
| Poultry kept for eggs or meat | Livestock, so agriculture |
| Rabbits kept for meat or fur | Livestock, so agriculture |
| Rabbits or poultry kept as pets | Not livestock |
| Horses kept for riding | Not livestock, so not agriculture |
| Dog kennels or a cattery | A commercial use, not agriculture |
Fish farming and beekeeping sit less comfortably in the definition, and the position depends on the facts and on how the local planning authority approaches it. Ask rather than assume.
Mixed purposes and the honest answer
Most small alpaca holdings are mixed. The owner shears the animals, sells or uses the fleece, keeps a couple as pets, and takes bookings for walks at weekends. Planning looks at the primary use of the land and at whether any separate use has become material in its own right.
A holding where fibre production is the real activity, evidenced by shearing, fleece sales and a stocking rate consistent with grazing, is in agricultural use with an ancillary element. A holding where the fleece is a by-product and the income comes from visitors is in a mixed or commercial use, and the visitor element needs permission.
The test nobody likes hearing is a commercial one. If the fibre operation stopped, would the land use change? If the answer is no, the fibre is not what the land is being used for.
Buildings, shelters and permitted development rights
This is where the classification pays off, because permitted development rights for agriculture are generous and rights for anything else are not.
Part 6 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 gives Class A rights to agricultural units of five hectares or more, covering buildings and works reasonably necessary for agriculture, subject to area, height and siting limits. One of those limits is that a building or structure for accommodating livestock, or for storing slurry or sewage sludge, cannot be within 400 metres of the curtilage of a protected building.
Smallholdings are treated differently. Class B applies to agricultural land of between 0.4 and 5 hectares, and it is much narrower. It does not permit the erection of a new building. It allows extension or alteration of an existing agricultural building within limits, plant and machinery, a hard surface and certain excavations. So the owner of a three hectare paddock cannot build an alpaca shelter under Part 6 even where the use is plainly agricultural.
Three consequences follow for a typical smallholding.
- A new field shelter or barn needs planning permission on a holding under five hectares, whatever the animals are kept for.
- On a holding over five hectares, Class A may cover it, subject to the 400 metre rule and the other limits, and subject to a prior approval determination where the development falls into the category the Order reserves.
- If the keeping is not agriculture at all, Part 6 does not apply on any size of holding, and both the use and the buildings need permission.
A shelter that is mobile in fact, on skids and actually moved between paddocks, may escape being development at all. One bolted to a concrete pad has not.
Effluent, odour and neighbour amenity
Camelids are easier neighbours than most livestock. They use communal dung piles rather than fouling the whole paddock, their manure has a mild odour, and they are quiet. That helps but it does not remove the obligations.
Manure storage is caught by the farming rules for water, which require organic manure to be kept at least 10 metres from inland freshwater and 50 metres from a spring, well or borehole, and to be positioned where run-off will not reach water. Muck heap siting also drives complaints on small holdings where the heap ends up in the nearest corner, which is usually the corner nearest a boundary.
Stocking rate is the other amenity issue and it is one the authority will notice. Too many animals on too little grass produces bare ground, mud, supplementary feeding, and a holding that looks and behaves like an intensive use rather than grazing.
Visitor activities and trekking
Alpaca walking is a commercial visitor use. It brings cars, it brings people, it needs parking, a welfare area and often a toilet, and it is a material change of use of the land it happens on.
Two routes exist. The temporary use rights in Part 4 of Schedule 2 allow a limited number of days per calendar year for certain uses without permission, which suits an occasional open day rather than a weekly business, and the mechanics of those rights are set out in the note on camping and caravan use under the temporary use right. Beyond that, a change of use application is needed.
Licensing runs alongside planning. Exhibiting animals to the public is a licensable activity under the animal activities licensing regime, administered by the same council but by a different team, and a planning permission does not produce a licence or vice versa. Sort both.
The trajectory from hobby to business follows the same pattern as equestrian holdings, where the tipping point is well documented in the note on livery yards and the point horses become a business.
Evidence for a change of use application
Where permission is needed, evidence the use rather than describing it.
- State the number of animals, the land area and the resulting stocking rate.
- Say what the animals are kept for, and evidence it: shearing dates, fleece weights, sales records, or a business plan for a new operation.
- List every structure with dimensions, and say which are mobile and which are fixed.
- Show the muck heap position with distances to boundaries, watercourses and any well or borehole.
- Show the access, visibility, parking and turning, with vehicle numbers for any visitor element.
- Describe hours of any commercial activity, and offer conditions on animal numbers and on visitor use if you can live with them.
Put the policy case in a Planning Statement dealing with countryside policy, landscape effect, highway safety and neighbour amenity. If the use has been running for years unchallenged, a Lawful Development Certificate may be the better application, since it asks a question of fact rather than of policy.
Illustrative example. A 2.2 hectare smallholding keeps nine alpacas, shears annually and sells fleece to a local spinner. The land is in agricultural use, but because the holding is under five hectares no new building is permitted under Part 6, so the owner applies for a 24 m² field shelter and a hardstanding. Weekend trekking for up to eight visitors is applied for separately as a change of use, with four parking spaces. Figures are illustrative. Browse the PlanScope report types to see which documents a smallholding application is likely to need.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. A Lawful Development Certificate is the only formal way to confirm that a use is lawful. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is keeping alpacas agriculture for planning purposes?
It is if they are kept for fleece, because the statutory definition of livestock covers creatures kept for the production of wool. Alpacas kept purely as companion animals, or as the basis of a paid visitor experience, are not livestock for that purpose, so the land is not in agricultural use and permission is needed for the change.
Can I build an alpaca shelter without planning permission?
Not on a holding of less than five hectares. Class B of Part 6 covers agricultural land between 0.4 and 5 hectares but does not permit the erection of new buildings. On holdings of five hectares or more, Class A may cover a shelter subject to the limits, including the 400 metre restriction near a protected building.
Does alpaca trekking need planning permission?
Usually yes, because paying visitors walking animals on the land is a commercial use rather than agriculture, and it brings traffic and parking. Occasional events may fall within the temporary use rights in Part 4 of Schedule 2. A licence under the animal activities licensing regime may also be required, separately from any permission.
How many alpacas can I keep on a small paddock?
There is no statutory figure, and the planning question is whether the stocking rate is consistent with grazing. Too many animals for the grass leads to bare ground, mud and supplementary feeding, which makes the use look intensive rather than agricultural. State the stocking rate in any application and expect a condition on numbers.
Where should the muck heap go?
At least 10 metres from inland freshwater and 50 metres from a spring, well or borehole under the farming rules for water, and positioned so run-off cannot reach water. On a small holding, also keep it as far from boundaries and neighbouring windows as the site allows, because heap siting is the usual source of complaints.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.