Moon Dancing
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Macho
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Why Alpaca Breed Standards? - 2006/02/22 11:26
Why Alpaca Breed Standards?
Now that the outrage about Alpaca Breed Standards has calmed to a sense of reasoning, I find myself pondering its potential. Questions that are not answered are many. Just who does this serve? At this point, the indication is it will serve a very narrow range of breeders that are already being served.
The forces that be have spent the last few years guiding the way towards defining the “chosen” alpaca. This alpaca is well represented by a group of “line-bred” imports and their offspring, some of these are being further line bred.
This chosen standard has been reinforced by AOBA’s hiring/or seeking council, of “Breed Standard” professionals to guide the writing of the AOBA alpaca show rules.
Questions that sit unanswered, and are in need of much thought, are where is there room for variation? What about the different fleece types that are emerging? Where are there indications that more then one type huacaya or one suri fleece will be valued in the show ring? They are all valued at the mill. Is the real issue the show ring and not the future of the industry?
The cattle and sheep industries have lots of room for the “cross bred” animal. Crosses become breeds in time. Does the alpaca industry have room for the cross? Will we try to control another’s breeding program? Who is making room for the breeders who have the courage to breed a better fleece? Most of our national herd is already cross breed. There are now alpacas with “soft rolling skin” being bred in the United States. Are they a breed or do we shut them out? What about the Paca-Vicuna? Should they be condemned?
What about breeding out of the alpaca the very characteristics that make them a valuable meat animal is other countries. As far as meat animals go, those are meaty loins on the Acero Marka’s Bolivian and the Accoyo Peruvian imports. They were bred for fleece and meat. Is it wanton waste that another’s food is not utilized to its fullest? Will this change when farms have hundreds of geriatric males? Will the industry have to eat crow when it is time to change from “The huggable, loveable alpaca” to the “Huggable, loveable, eatable alpaca”?
This has to change with numbers or the end farmer won’t be able to make a living. Withers in Peru are reported to sell for $10, it is reported that in Australia that if you pay over $65 for one you won’t make a profit and that includes selling it for fleece, meat and pelt.
As an industry, we make a lot of money selling Teddy Bears made from alpaca pelts. This says we are not against alpaca pelts. It is rationalized as “They waste nothing”. So what is our industry wasting? If the end farmer can’t make a living, then are we really serious about alpacas as a viable industry in the United States? Or are we all opportunists? Why after 20 years don’t we have a viable market for our product, fleece? Does this mean there really isn’t a market and we are all sliding down the pyramid?
How will establishing a breed standard answer any of these questions? Will it establish ethics in the industry? Will farms quit selling dams that are known to throw CA crias and not refunding to the unsuspecting buyer? Will it stop false advertising?
Just who will write these standards if chosen and how will they allow for change that is inevitable?
Is the alpaca industry really a viable entity or is it, and breed standards, all fluff for a narcissistic industry? Do we really care about the small and the end farmer?
Please give me hell, as I want to know the answers.
Submitted by: Irene Fuller, Moon Dancing Alpacas.
Post edited by: Moon Dancing, at: 2006/06/19 19:46
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Mulberry
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Don
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Re:Why Alpaca Breed Standards? - 2006/02/22 12:55
Well done Irene for voicing the concerns of many breeders both large and small. Reluctant as I am to "pigeon hole" people I can see clear segments (groups) starting to emerge in the US alpaca market and they have very different needs, expectations and resources.
However, if the industry were to split or fragment then I think we could quickly go the way of the Llama market.
We have to stay united and combine our skills and resources for the benfit of everyone.
Adrian
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Moon Dancing
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Macho
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Re:Why Alpaca Breed Standards? - 2006/04/10 18:36
Life's a game but your must be present to win.
(Ashley Brilliant)
In the alpaca game only dues paying AOBA members get to vote for or against breed standards.
I had a neighbor on welfare once that was complaining about the system. I asked if they were registered to vote. No they weren't. To me they had given up their rights to judge the system.
All the posturing and positioning in the world is an act of impotence if you have given up your vote.
No matter what side you are on, please back it up with your valid, countable vote.
Think of your AOBA membership as a vote tax if need be but please be there for the vote.
Post edited by: Moon Dancing, at: 2006/06/19 19:49
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Moon Dancing
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Macho
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Re:Why Alpaca Breed Standards? - 2006/06/19 21:30
At the SOJAA meeting, it was announced by Adrian Stewart that “after working the last two days with Mike Safely “, Mike has about completed his rebuttal to John, Merrill, Ingrid Woods and Eric Hoffman (and others) in opposition to Alpaca Breed Standards. He will mail this pro-standard position to all of AOBA. We all know that timing is everything.
Now these are all alpaca breeders with their projection as to what will happen to the future of the industry and the North American Alpaca. They are passionate in their beliefs, they are all experienced, educated, intelligent and have the courage to speak up for their beliefs and their industry. They are dedicated to the industry and have all served it in many and varied capacities.
We know there will be name calling, minimizing and labeling coming our way. That is the first tactic used to devalue the opponents position. Those opposed to Alpaca Breed Standards are characterized as fearful, uneducated, uninformed, and the like. Some have had to endure character assassinations by the pro side.
Those in favor are labeled as self serving, bulldozers, that proclaim “we aren’t breeding dogs” when scientific breeding disasters are put before them. Some have had to endure character assassinations by the opposing side.
We all learned our first formal genetics lessons with fruit flies and peas, so if we can’t learn from other industries mistakes and apply these lesson across the board then we are in big trouble. All things are the same, an eye is and eye with minor variations and adaptations among species.
I have two votes and each of the “them” have two votes, some have to share their two votes. If we let the courage to speak out be the yardstick for predicting the vote it would be three opposed and one for establishing Alpaca Breed Standards.
Some of those votes greater financial means to create a mass mailing in an effort to influence your vote in the name of “educating you, me us“. Just like choosing a potential herd sire, the ability to buy the ad has nothing to do with the quality of what is being sold.
If you have information on this subject that is beneficial to others please share it other wise we have to try to remember the fruit fly and pea labs. If you have not educated yourself on this issue there are plenty that would like you to vote “their way“. There are several breed standard conference still to come where others will offer their sales pitch for their position.
We all get two votes per membership whether we pay to attend these conference or not. This vote can cost anywhere from the cost of AOBA membership to many thousands of dollars to attend many of the breed standards conferences in far off places. If you are not sure how you will vote then participate in these adventures. If you are firm in your convictions and know your vote then save your money.
Now the other issue is we assume the vote will be a “for or against” vote. We have no indication as to the wording this vote will contain. I am suspecting that it will be worded to the effect of “This is what you people told us you wanted from the BS conferences” and it may not even be presented as a for or against vote. This will unfold with time, better add distrustful and insightful to the list of name calling and labeling up top.
To my knowledge only AOBA members get to vote. The vote is said to be in February of 2007. So if you want to cancel out my two votes you need to become an AOBA member before what ever date the voting rules state. This makes a great 2007 membership drive for AOBA.
Post edited by: Moon Dancing, at: 2006/06/19 23:25
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Moon Dancing
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Macho
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Re:Why Alpaca Breed Standards? - 2006/07/14 23:13
As announced, “The History of Alpaca Breed Standards in the United States”, a 32 page booklet written by Mike Safley, came in the mail.
It is obvious that Mr. Safley is “aggressively in favor of alpaca breed standards of any kind”. (pg1) This is evident by the fact that he produced and mailed a 32 page color booklet to about 5,000 alpaca owners, in support of his position.
After promoting the ideal alpaca, not the “Ideal Alpaca” (which is the mantra for the Ideal Alpaca Community for which the author is known), the author accuses opponents of establishing written alpaca breed standards of “predicting doom if standards are adopted” and then on page 26 and 27 he fearfully implies doom by quotes of a llama industry leader that the “little breeder opponents to standards”, will ruin the industry. Just like they did the llama industry. This emotional declaration of doom is misplaced. The llama industry folded because the number of llamas out paced their useful purpose in the United States. They out paced their market. The serious llama producer still exists and they are still dedicated to the potential of their chosen livestock species. They are still working on breeding up.
In their native land, alpacas and llamas are produced for breeding stock, fleece, packing, pelts, and as a protein source (meat). In this country we have reduced this purpose to 3/5 for the llama and 2/5 for the alpaca. We have added the use as a pet by emotional advertising but have closed the door on meat and pelts. This is a reduction in use, the value and division of this lose of use to the industry is yet to be determined.
Numbers without purpose burst the bubble of the llama industry thus bringing the price of the llama to it’s equilibrium. On page 26 the author also asserts that, “The failure to establish breed standards was a wrong turn that has haunted the llama community. The first imported llamas were “large, heavy boned animal, later bred down to be small woolly, and more recently, selected for suri fleece.” this reader can not discern anything here to justify the use of the emotional term, “this foolishness” used in this section by the author. The author’s words are phenotypic fads. There are also opinions in this section about “phenotypic fads”. But there is nothing about how standards would influence fashion or the phenotypic fad. Desirable traits at a given time are minimized as foolishness. Yet desirable traits at a given time are what Mr. Safley is calling for. Tell the market place about this “foolishness”. All farmers, rancher, and business concerns produce what sells and they remain flexible in order to compete in their market. That is the fact of the dollar.
On page 26, 27 Andy Tillerman is quoted as stating the opinion, “A breed standard would have pointed out the shortcomings of the undersized imported animal and would have increased the value of the North American bloodlines.” So what is it, large and heavy boned or undersized?
This booklet reads like, distinction without a difference.
The author states that breed standards have been a positive influence since 1989 (pg3) and that we are unaware of them, that he and Angus McCall created the import screening standards for fleece (pg 4) while others, of equally high esteem, created the phenotype guidelines. By the authors citation on (pg2, #5.), he points out that this call for specific breed standards has been denied to an assertive group since 1989 yet the “we” in this citation persist even though the industry keeps saying no. The author was a part of the forming groups that governed screening standards and show standards. He has been a policy maker since day one of this industry. He uses photos on pages 5 and 6 to visually support the changes made in the industry yet he is not satisfied without the written rules in specificity and in detail. 18 years the answer has been “No”.
Where Mr. Safley really shoots his position in the foot is by the use of the “before and after” alpaca pictures. Comparing unshorn to shorn alpacas is not a true comparison for starters. One would surmise that all the alpacas in the first “before” pictures are dead by now and that our fore fathers learned their lesson quickly. Writing “standards” will not remove these genes from our national gene pool. One can also assume these first pictured alpacas were sold to small breeders when the Peruvian and Bolivian alpacas arrived, the same small breeders that it is implied will ruin the industry by voting no to breed standards.
These first import choices had to be made by speculators, not people with any livestock breeding experience. Anyone, who has been in this industry for any time, would know the difference between these alpacas in the two sets of pictures is the tremendous influence the Peruvian (including Peruvian Accoyo) and Bolivian (including Acero Marca’s Bolivian) imports had on the national herd. They added hybrid vigor by outcrossing with the existing national herd. Many of these alpacas are line bred (inbred by varying degrees) and come with genetic limitation positive or negative to the market place. Peru opening their borders to export had the greater influence on the improved difference in our national herd. We can also assume the second set of pictures is a transparent example and exemplify the mantra of the capital “I” ideal alpaca which is Mr. Safley’s personal concern. This booklet was his nickel and he can advertise his herd anyway he sees fit.
Using the author’s citations (pg12) regarding a genetic bottleneck as applied to the ARI suri alpaca is pretty scary. Using ARI figures, off of the ARI website, there were 1576 female suris in the registry at the time of closure. We know in this group there are suri huacaya crosses. Using Mr. Safley’s citation, “estimates of the number of animals required to maintain a breed in Western countries range from 150-1,500 breeding females depending on the species and reproductive rate”. (this reader will need to seek more information the parts about reproductive rate). Suri fleece is a single gene trait; (pg10) is this trait at risk using the remaining statistics cited? Has Mr. Safley made his opponents point?
Mr. Safley asserts that if understood, the opposition to breed stardards will be found lacking and uses the following terms to minimize his opponents position, (pg28).
Glossary of terms:
Hyperbole; to exceed, extravagant exaggeration
Rhetoric; 1: the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a: the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times b: the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion
This was used as “emotional rhetoric” (pg28)
Demagoguery; 1: a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power
2: a leader championing the cause of the common people in ancient times
The author of this booklet, a paid political advertisement, is the founder of the “Ideal Alpaca Community”, which promotes the “Stud Master” breeding males, a business. It makes business sense to lead the industry towards his personal business goal of the “i”deal alpaca.
Without written rules which require the need of enforcement, we all know we pay more for the unblemished apple.
All of the wonderful changes in the North American alpaca herd have been accomplished by the average alpaca breeder’s credo, “Always breed up”. Nothing further is needed.
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Gateway Farm
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Admin
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Re:Why Alpaca Breed Standards? - 2006/07/15 03:44
Nice post!
Let's look at Mr. Safley's own words on the subject:
"But more than anything I have learned that alpacas will always change in the direction of my vision... Once superior sires are identified we can make large scale, across herd improvements in the alpaca breeds." (www.alpacas.com/Books/IdealAlpaca/Introduction.aspx)
This is the same individual that attempted to create a "Certified Stud" program back in 1996 - using ARI. The criteria was set up so that only large, existing breeders would be able to breed their males. Criteria included:
1. Minimum of ten births as a result of outside breedings (to ensure that the animal is a viable breeding male)
2. Successful screening supported by the Physical Examination Screening Checklist (the standard veterinarian screening examination for all imports), as well as any genetic screening tests developed in the future
3.Minimum score of 90 on the Alpaca Phenotype Characteristics Evaluation Form (the standard phenotype form currently used for all imports, except that males in this program must receive a score of 90, rather than the standard acceptable score of 80).
Once a male has met these three eligibility requirements, he is accepted into the program and will stay in the program as long as his owner meets the reporting requirements (see below).
The owner will receive a certificate of the animal's membership in the program and is allowed to use the Male Certification Program logo in advertising.
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The idea was scrubbed, in part due to input from experts. I will include Dr. Sponenburg's analysis in a followup post.
I must say, there is a pattern of persistence here!
John Merrell
Gateway Farm Alpacas
Alpaca, a natural elegance... |
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