Alpaca owners across Cambridgeshire are installing high-tech security systems after four animals were killed in an execution-style shooting.
The pets, named Calvin, Klein, Martha and Juniper, were shot in the head at a farm in East Hatley between Saturday night and early Sunday.
A fifth alpaca, Phoebe, survived despite being shot in the face, while Frankie escaped unharmed.
The bodies were found scattered around a six-acre field with "horrific" gunshot wounds, alongside a sheep that had been fatally mauled by dogs.
Alpaca owners across Cambridgeshire are installing high-tech security systems after four animals were killed in an execution-style shooting (stock image)
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Dawn French, the owner of the alpacas, described the scene as "carnage, like a murder scene or some kind of execution".
"I think they've been shot from a distance, possibly with a scope," she told The Times.
The "traumatised" survivors have been moved from the farm to a more secure pen monitored by CCTV cameras, as police continue to hunt for the killer.
French, 58, speculated that the shooter might have used a silencer, saying: "I suppose you wouldn't [hear anything] if they've got a silencer, or dampener, on the gun."
The owner of the farm, who asked not to be identified, was at home during the attack but heard nothing.
The incident has shocked the local alpaca-loving community and prompted owners to beef up security.
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Tracy Birch, who keeps 29 alpacas in the neighbouring village of Bourn, said she was "terrified" after hearing that a "sicko gunman was using alpacas for target practice".
She is now spending hundreds of pounds reinforcing the fencing around her fields.
"I'm getting a camera system put in at each entrance. They have night vision and will send images to my phone if anyone comes near the fields," Birch explained.
The system also features two-way audio, allowing her to communicate with potential intruders.
"I can say: 'What are you doing? If you're not gone within three minutes I'm coming down with my gun,'" she said.
Birch described the system as similar to Ring doorbells but designed for remote farm locations.
Four alpacas were shot dead with a rifle (stock)
Getty"It's peace of mind for me, but also so I can say I've done my best to protect my animals," she added.
The UK is home to approximately 35,000 alpacas, which are often treated more like pets than livestock.
The animals typically cost between £1,000 and £6,000.
Officers from Cambridgeshire police have been carrying out house-to-house inquiries as they try to find the perpetrators.
Investigators believe the attackers used a .22 or higher calibre rifle.
"They're gentle souls, they're not aggressive, they're not nasty, there's absolutely no reason to target them," Birch said of alpacas.
She added that their only defence against attackers was "spitting".
