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Developing the Finest Colored Huacaya Alpaca Herd in the World

The Origins and Facts Behind ARI Fiber Criteria for Inbound Alpacas

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 all have a second coat of guard hair Ideally alpacas are a single coated animal, with an absence of guard hair.

After considerable input from alpaca breeders, importers, fiber experts, textile manufacturers, and a review of existing literature in the held, the Registry decided to allocate 60 of the 100 point total score on the "Alpaca Characteristic Evaluation Form" to fiber This allocation was further subdivided into four categories: (1) fineness, (2) standard deviation, (3) density and (4) the percent of fiber over 30 microns. Each category is reviewed in detail later in this article. For an understanding of how the balance of the 40 points is allocated, please see the "ARI Screening Manual", which has been published in this edition.

It is important to note that each fiber category accounts for only 15 points, which is 15 percent of the total score or 25 percent of the fiber score. An alpaca could lose all the points for a given fiber category and if it was nearly perfect in all other respects, it would still pass screening. This balanced approach avoids over-emphasis on any one phenotypic trait.

The new screening rules contain a height and weight standard, which is an important variable when considering the fiber criteria. The rules require an animal to be at least 32 inches at the withers and weigh at least 105 pounds unshorn. These height and weight standards allow for the comparison of animals that are at least 18 months to 2 years old and should provide information that is less subject to the influence of age. This approach was decided on as an alternative to the uncertainty of aging the animals by their teeth or relying on the importer's representation of an animal's age.

Most of the fiber screening criteria have been well received. There has been some controversy about the lack of juvenile height and weight standards in the final rules. The ARI is currently screening juvenile animals and allowing importers to make their case for allowing younger animals before fully adopting the final rule. There has also been some controversy surrounding the perceived differences between suris and huacayas and colored versus white animals.

FIBER EVALUATION CRITERIA

Micron Count: The ARI relied on data from a number of sources to determine the maximum acceptable micron count an animal could exhibit before losing points on the "Alpaca Characteristic Screening Form." These included the American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) specification for alpaca, South American Peruvian Fiber Classing Standards, data from Yocom-McColl Testing Laboratory on the domestic alpaca herd, test data from the 1995 Peruvian import, and on data collected form Australian alpacas.