Deggendorf (Germany) (AFP)
Alpacas as psychiatric remedies? Animals usually prized for their fur, they also serve in a German clinic both as therapists but also as reintegration intermediaries for delinquents suffering from mental disorders.
The Mainkofen clinic in Bavaria, not far from the Austrian border, has been offering some of its patients for the past ten years the possibility of channeling their emotions in a very particular setting: a farm located on the premises of the establishment serves as a refuge for several of these camelids.
Every day, the actors of the program feed the ten animals present in the field, walk them, brush their coats, dress their wounds and clean their stables.
"I like it a lot," admits a man who introduces himself under a pseudonym, Erwin Meier.
"It's fun working with animals. There is something to do every day."
The program is open to all patients in the hospital but is primarily intended for offenders with mental disorders.
These alpacas thus serve as an escape for these patients who, in normal times, are not allowed to leave the premises of the clinic.
But the rules are strict. If they are away for too long or outside of the authorized hours, they risk losing their permission to spend time with these furry animals.
"Normally, the patients of the clinic do not have contact with + normal + people", warns the pedagogue in charge of this pioneering program in Germany and owner of the alpacas, Silke Lederbogen.
"But as they go for example to walk with the alpacas on the grounds of the clinic, and they speak with visitors, other patients, doctors or caregivers, they are invited to answer questions like + is -Do alpacas spit, can I stroke them, where do they come from, what do they eat? + and they can do it competently, ”she says.
© 2020 AFP