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by
Mike
Safley
The
Alpaca
Registry
was
originally
conceived
and
organized
around
the
principle
of
scientifically
verifiable
bloodlines.
The
founding
members
of
the
Registry
recognized
the
importance
of
eliminating
llamas,
guanacos,
and
huarizos
from
the
domestic
alpaca
gene
pool.
After
a
short
initial
period
virtually
all
of
the
alpacas
in
North
America
were
registered.
The
Registry
was
then
closed
to
animals
of
unknown
origin.
From
that
point
on,
all
unregistered
alpacas
were
required
to
pass
a
screening
evaluation
prior
to
being
admitted
to
the
Registry.
The
system
worked
well;
both
imported
and
previously
unregistered
domestic
animals
were
screened.
The
screening
criteria
in
effect
during
the
early
years
largely
focused
on
eliminating
alpacas
with
visible
genetic
flaws,
conformation
problems,
or
those
which
exhibited
a
hybrid
appearance,
i.e.
huarizos.
Beginning
in
1993,
the
alpaca
community
was
faced
with
an
influx
of
imported
alpacas.
These
imports
were
occasioned
by
the
opening
of
Peru's
export
market
and
the
increasing
demand
for
alpaca
bloodstook.
By
1994,
Chile
was
declared
FMD
free
and
a
relaxed
import
protocol
was
negotiated
with
the
United
States.
Alpacas
began
being
imported
on
a
larger
scale.
These
imports
increased
concern
among
domestic
alpaca
breeders.
There
were
health
concerns,
market
concerns,
and
quality
concerns.
As
the
debate
unfolded,
many
competing
demands
were
placed
on
the
ARSC
screening
committee:
"Ban
exports,"
"Increase
quarantine
requirements,"
"Impose
a
quota,"
"Increase
screening
fees,"
"Impose
more
rigorous
screening
requirements."
An
import
symposium
was
convened
in
Denver,
Colorado,
in
1995
to
discuss
these
issues
and
an
industry
consensus
began
to
be
achieved.
As
a
result
of
the
Denver
meeting,
ARSC
decided
to
appoint
an
industry
advisory
committee,
which
was
dubbed
the
ARSC
Advisory
Committee
or
the
AAC.
After
an
extensive
survey
of
the
ARI
membership,
the
committee
set
to
work
assembling
a
set
of
recommendations
for
the
alpaca
community,
which
were
compiled
into
a
report.
The
report
ultimately
recommended
that
the
Regis-try
focus
on
screening
animals
for
soundness
and
quality.
A
recommendation
was
made
that
the
Registry
avoid
becoming
involved
in
the
alpaca
market.
These
goals
are
embodied
in
the
following
quote
from
the
committee's
mission
statement:
"....
.
to
make
specific
recommendations
for
screening
unregistered
alpacas
in
ways
that
encourage
good
husbandry
practices,
safeguard
and
improve
the
gene
pool,
and
minimize
health
risks
-
all
with
the
ultimate
goal
of
producing
the
world's
highest-quality
alpacas."
The
report
also
recommended
that,
among
other
things,
alpacas
be
scored
for
points
on
an
"Alpaca
Phenotype
Characteristic
Evaluation
Form."
A
minimum
score
of
80
points
out
of
100
was
required
to
qualify
an
animal
for
registration.
The
report
was
subsequently
adopted
by
the
Alpaca
Registry,
Inc.
(ARI),
the
successor
in
interest
to
the
ARSC
committee.
The
Registry
wants
to
be
true
to
its
founding
principles
and
utilize,
to
the
extent
possible,
objective,
verifiable
criteria
in
the
evaluation
process.
The
first
focus
of
the
screening
process
is
on
eliminating
alpacas
that
have
visible
genetic
flaws
or
severe
conformation
problems.
This
exam
is
conducted
by
highly
trained
veterinarians
who
reject
any
alpacas
that
fail
to
pass
the
"Physical
Examination
Screening
Checklist."
For
the
animals
that
pass
the
first
screening,
the
next
step
is
scoring
according
to
the
"Alpaca
Phenotype
Characteristic
Evaluation
Form,"
which
includes
an
emphasis
on
fiber
evaluation.
This
emphasis
reinforces
the
principle
of
eliminating
hybrid
animals
from
the
Registry.
Llamas,
vicunas,
and
guanacos
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