Alpaca breeders keen to promote both the meat and the fibre of their livestock will be taking part in next week's Royal Canberra Show.

For the first time, the country's capital will offer alpaca meat in mini burgers, sausages, smoked with avocado spread and on a stick with minted yoghurt, reports SMH.

Alpaca section chief Susan Nielson, said "In the industry there are people who don't like the fact we are going to eat them, but there are people who don't like the fact we eat sheep."

Alpacas aren't the only animals deemed as unpalattable to many consumers. The discovery of horse meat in Tesco branded burgers and Findus lasagnes has caused an uproar abroad, where consumers are understandably concerned that products are being labelled accurately, but are also simply uncomfortable with eating horse meat.

Alan Reilly, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland's chief executive, said "In Ireland, it is not in our culture to eat horse meat and therefore, we do not expect to find it in a burger.

"Likewise, for some religious groups or people who abstain from eating pig meat, the presence of traces of pig DNA is unacceptable."