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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