Alpaca therapy an essential service for people with a disability from Gold Coast Rec and Sport during COVID-19 pandemic

In the midst of a virus pandemic, the alpacas at the Mountview Alpaca farm at Canungra are providing an essential service to locals with a disability.

IN THE midst of a virus pandemic, the fluffy alpacas at the Mountview Alpaca farm at Canungra are providing an essential service to locals with a disability.
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Akaisha Porter, projects manager at Gold Coast Recreation and Sport at Southport said the alpaca pet therapy had a soothing and calming effect on clients and it was essential to continue the therapy with social distancing measures in place.

Clients from the Gold Coast Recreation & Sport at Southport are still accessing alpaca therapy at the Mountview Alpaca Farm at Canungra while social distancing.

Gold Coast Recreation and Sport Inc is a not for profit community organisation and a registered charity which provides recreation and sporting opportunities to people with varying disabilities.
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“The alpacas assist in reducing anxiety and to breakdown communication barriers by providing a safe environment for our clients to develop social skills without any external disruptions,” she said.

Caring for the alpacas instils a sense of responsibility in those with a disability.

“We really only just discovered this service a few weeks prior to the COVID19 outbreak.

“With all of the local gyms and local sporting facilities closing, it left our organisation with limited opportunities to provide our essential service.
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“The Mountview farm understood the vital importance of being able to offer activities so with the help of this alpaca farm, we have been able to continue engagement programs.”

She said the clients loved caring for the alpacas which included hand feeding, walking and watching the animals go about their own daily business.

“Our clients are calm yet extremely excited for their daily or weekly visits to the animals and it has allowed them to have a sense of responsibility, which creates confidence in a time that is so uncertain,” she said.

Clients from the Gold Coast Recreation & Sport love their weekly visits to the farm during these difficult times.

Prior to COVID-19, GCRS had more than 400 clients accessing more than 220 programs each week and currently still have more than 90 weekly clients, with majority of them visiting the Mountview Alpaca Farm.

The farm at Canungra has been owned by Steve and Jenny Pack for the past 10 years.

They started taking the Alpacas to nursing homes and saw the great response these sessions had on the elderly and vulnerable.