Aanz december2015 final issuu by NZ Alpaca

MAGAZ IN IAL E IC

OF F

December 2015

Stoney Meadows Alpacas

Stoney Meadows Genesis

Stoney Meadows Honeydew

Stoney Meadows Incan Lass

Stoney Meadows Kaspar

Striving for Perfection National and International Enquiries Welcome

www.stoneymeadowsalpacas.com Sandra & Wayne Allison Rangiora, New Zealand

info@stoneymeadows.co.nz +64 3 312 0512

MAGAZI NE IAL IC OF

OF F

December 2015

Message from the President

News Flash

Nobel Prize Awarded for Parasite Busters

Alpaca 2015 National Show

Fibre with some Momentum

Rumpelstiltskin Suri Fibre Project

The Importance of Contracts

Alpaca Chromosomes and Gene Mapping

Camel, Alpaca Antibodies Target Anticancer Viruses Directly to Tumors

Fibrant Auckland National Festival 2016

Kiwi Farm Alpacas Workshop

SAABS Alpaca Health Conference

Heading South

Sustainable Alpaca Farming

Sustainable Alpaca Farming: Setting Up Your Farm Environmental Management System

Neonatal Health Care

Worm Worries in Alpacas

Advertiser Profile

New Member Profile

Stoneleigh Valentino

South Island Colourbration 2015

Results: South Island Colourbration 2015

Results: Alpaca 2015 National Show

Obituary: Gordon ‘Bruce’ Johnstone

Greg Charteris

MAGAZIN IAL E IC

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Inside this issue…

Stephen Mulholland COVER PHOTO: Supplied by Shirley Grant NZ Summerhill Alpacas

Brenda Gainsford

The Momentum Team

The Rumpelstiltskin Team & Terri Cattell Cilla Taylor

Terje Raudsepp

Julia Evangelou

The KFA Team

Caroline Falkner

Tessa & Peter McKay

Julie Wilkinson

Christopher Cebra Rosie Milne Stu Free

Lisa & Steve Gerrard Chris Strack

BOOK YOUR ADVERTISING NOW!! NZ Alpaca Magazine is now viewed by an international audience on ww.issuu.com

Lindsay Riddle

Sarah Busby

New Zealand Alpaca is printed on paper derived from resources which are managed to ensure their renewability for generations to come.

Editor Frith Latham magazine@alpaca.org.nz

Website www.alpaca.org.nz AANZ – All Enquiries Toni Soppet – AANZ Office Manager PO Box 6348, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch 8442 Phone (03) 341 5242. Mobile 021 368 994 tonisoppet@alpaca.org.nz or aanz@clear.net.nz

Advertising AANZ Office advertising@alpaca.org.nz Phone (03) 341 5242 Deadlines New Zealand Alpaca is produced three times per year. Deadlines for all advertising & articles for the next issue is 26th February, 2016.

AANZ Council President Greg Charteris 128 Stan Wright Road Karaka, Auckland president@alpaca.org.nz

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Treasurer Wayne Allison treasurer@alpaca.org.nz Southern Region Rep. Andy Nailard southernrep@alpaca.org.nz Central Region Rep. Neil Watson centralrep@alpaca.org.nz Northern Region Rep. Sarah Busby northernrep1@alpaca.org.nz Northern Region Rep. Jackee Peters northernrep2@alpaca.org.nz Liability Whilst all efforts have been made to ensure accuracy of information this Association accepts no responsibility for any errors contained in advertisements or text. Views expressed by advertisements and contributors are not necessarily endorsed by this association. Copyright All material appearing in NZ Alpaca is copyright. Reproduction in whole or part is not permitted without the written permission of AANZ.

Have a Merry Christmas, a great Holiday Season, we will see you all when showing starts up again in the New Year.

Message from the President As I write this I am thankful for a few alpaca things: the pre‑Christmas showing season is over, shearing is over for the year and summer is coming and some well-earned holidays are ahead. Our National Show is over and was a great success. We had excellent entries and a great time was had by all. It was really pleasing to see a good number of South Island breeders in attendance and I applaud those that came as we are all conscious of the time and financial cost to travel between islands. The Mystery Creek venue was an excellent facility in which to hold our National Show however, despite significant marketing throughout the Waikato region including leading newspapers, breakfast TV, breakfast radio and several thousand mail drops at targeted rural delivery address’s, we had a very disappointing public attendance despite the attraction of free entry. This raises the question of how we get more public interest in our breed, I think sometimes we are our own worst enemies at shows as we are so absorbed in what is going on and there are long periods were there is virtual silence during judging, that the public must think they are watching paint dry. However, first we must get the public to our National Show and one wonders if it needs to be run in conjunction with another event. One example is the Auckland Easter show where we see 200,000 people through the show doors and running the alpaca section at such an event is far cheaper than doing it as a stand-alone show. We know that the timing of the National Show is critical for shearing etc. and I may be howled down for suggesting we look at alternative solutions, but I think it is worth investigating, as a huge costly event, with very few public attendees is somewhat disappointing. Shearing is an annual activity that most of us look forward to with dread. The physical stress, organising helpers, keeping animals clean and dry and cooking for workers is all rather stressful for most of us. History has demonstrated to us that forward preparation can make the whole job easier and this relates to having facilities that make the shearing process flow well, having enough workers and a detailed plan for who does what, plus knowing where your fleece is going after shearing thus only handling your fleece once. One of the worst aspects of shearing is ending up with shed full of bags of fleece and not knowing what to do with it.

come down and they will still earn good money. I believe we are paying 60 – 80% more than Australia for shearing, and would be interested if someone has some facts on this. I think with smart forward planning, we can all make shearing both much easier and more profitable, which is what the industry needs. There is an article in this publication on an evolving initiative for fleece purchasing which will give growers another option for selling their fleece. The market will always have outlets for high quality fleece for boutique fashion uses, however a big portion of our national fleece clip is not suitable for this market and therefore we need outlets for large volumes of average quality fleece that we can prepare easily at shearing time and move off the farm after shearing and still get good return for it. I don’t need to talk about summer and holidays as we are all well experienced in these activities. The weather experts are telling us that we are in for serious droughts this summer so I hope you are all making additional feed while it is growing, to get you through any drought we have. On a final note you will all have seen updates on the China protocol for alpacas. This has progressed extremely well (even though somewhat slowly at times) and credit to Kit Johnston with all his hard work, we are nearing the end of the process and should look forward to the first exports to China from NZ in the near future. For those who are prepared to participate in this exporting it will be a great way for us to lower herd numbers and allow many to start breeding again. More information will be available in the near future on the quality of stock the Chinese buyers are wanting. I certainly look forward to this new opportunity for our industry and the resultant income for any members willing to participate. Our thanks to Kit for his hard work on this China protocol, we are very lucky to have had Kit’s experience in getting this through our MPI. Have a Merry Christmas, a great Holiday Season, we will see you all when showing starts up again in the New Year. Greg Charteris President, AANZ

I think it would be very good to have breeder input on planning a shearing area that works well, sharing information on best equipment to use, forward planning the destination of your fleece and looking at how we can get shearing costs down. If we can provide our shearers with an efficient shearing environment, get through more animals in a day, costs should 3

NEWSFLASH! CONFERENCE 2016 The planning has begun for another exciting conference. Mark your calendars now… JUNE 2016! The conference will follow the AANZ AGM.

NATIONAL ALPACA DAY 2016 Will be held on 8th May 2016 – Start preparing now!

XMAS OFFICE HOURS The National Office will be closed from end of business on Friday 18th December 2015. The office and National Council will be back on deck on Tuesday 5th January 2016. The office will then be closed again on the 11th January through to the 18th January 2016. We would like to thank all members for their support during 2015 and we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and safe New Year, and looking forward to working with you in 2016.

Nobel Prize Awarded for Parasite Busters

by Stephen Mulholland, Ph.D. For the Camelid Health Trust – www.camelidhealth.org You may not realize it, but this year's Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine is very relevant to the way you manage your alpacas. The prize this year was shared between William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura for their work in fighting roundworms, and Youyou Tu for her work in combating malaria. Omrua and Campbell worked in a research partnership in the 1970's, looking for compounds that would be effective against parasitic worms. They were collecting naturally occurring soil bacteria and looking for compounds that would be effective. Natural “biological weapons” from bacteria fungi is where the first antibiotics came from, and since then numerous potent drugs have come into the human pharmacopia from sources as diverse as snake venom and traditional herbs. Omura was collecting, growing and testing strains of soil bacteria (from the Streptomyces genus, which was already a source of anti-bacterial agents) searching for compounds that, when injected into a roundworm-ridden mouse, would kill the worms but not the mouse. One of the cultures from a bacterium called Streptomyces avermitillis, collected from a nearby golf course, worked! Further work identified and purified the active compound (avermectin B1), and this was then modified to a compound called Ivermectin which could effectively kill a broad spectrum of roundworms, insects and spiders with very few side effects to either mammals or birds. Thus the grandparent of the modern macrocyclic lactone drenches was born. So the next time you pull out that bottle of Dectomax, Genesis, etc, give thanks to Dr's Omura and Campbell for their excellent work. Thanks to my friend Diane Kelly, Ph.D. For her excellent summary of this year's Nobel Prize, from which this piece is derived. 4

HERDSIRES

Quality â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the foundation of success! EP Cambridge Invictus

Benleigh Sancho

Timbertop iRock

Shanbrooke Accoyo Shere Respect ET

Phone 027 537 5252 | Email toni@tcs.net.nz |

Waters Edge Alpacas | www.watersedgealpacas.co.nz

NATIONAL SHOW Alpaca 2015 National Show is the premier event on the New Zealand alpaca show calendar. It’s the place to be for anyone committed to the alpaca industry. by Brenda Gainsford – Breed Convenor

Breeders travelled from all parts of New Zealand to show case the very best in alpaca breeding to both other breeders and the public. With just over 300 breed entries and 200 fleece entries the stage was set for a great show. This year we returned to rural heartland New Zealand, Mystery Creek, Hamilton, a premium agricultural events centre. The breed ring was surrounded by café type seating. It was a great way to view the ring activity in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. A fabulous fleece display was situated next to the breed ring. A variety of trade stands showcased alpaca garments, products and services. A spinning group demonstrated the art of spinning throughout the show. A silent 6

auction ran over the 3 days. Trade displays flanked the public walkway through the pens to the ring. The Gala Dinner and Auction was held on Friday night at Coopers on the banks of the Waikato River just 5 minutes down the road. This was an entertaining and successful night. Saturday night saw a relaxed meal held around the ring area. This was an excellent opportunity to catch up with fellow breeders. We had great support for the photo competition with around 100 entries in four categories. These were displayed for all to enjoy. Our overall winner was Art Cattell with his entries in the Farm Scene class. Thank you to Cilla Taylor and Art Cattell for the photography.

Photography Competition Class Winners Cria 1st Ellie Rasmus 2nd Frith Latham 3rd Ruth Hutton Interacting 1st Lyn Skilling 2nd Robyn Anderson 3rd Frith Latham Farm Scene 1st Art Cattell 2nd Kellie Dodd 3rd Art Cattell Humorous 1st Robyn Anderson 2nd Terrie Cattell 3rd Cheryl Hildred

Surico Burton.

Stoneleigh Valentino and Stoneleigh Icon.

FIBRE WITH SOME

MOMENTUM Can you image thousands of healthy, strong, proud alpacas with beautiful fleeces? Alpacas that are 70, 80 or 90 Kgs and each producing at least three Kgs of fleece at 24+ Micron, consistently each year. All in New Zealand.

Well do not dream any more, they are already here! We have, in New Zealand in excess of 25,000 alpacas, which should really be known as the National Herd. The true potential of this national asset is currently not being realised, with tonnes of fleece wasted each year with no thought, direction or commercial thinking. But the first rung of the ladder is now here. A fledgling company with three commercial investors that have an eye to the future. This is not a fibre pool or a co-op, most of which have dismally failed in Australia, it is a commercial concern with the sole aim to invest in the harvesting of all available alpaca fleece in New Zealand. Ironically, whilst this article is being published in the Alpaca Association New Zealand’s magazine, the potential harvest is definitely not limited to its membership; it is open to all owners, big or small, throughout New Zealand. The main aim is to provide the opportunity for all alpaca owners

(at this stage Huacaya only) to get commercial value for their fleeces with particular emphasis on good quality 24+ micron fibre which the majority of animals are consistently producing.

Growers will need to make sure that the presented fleeces at the collection points are as a minimum: clean, free of vegetation, dust, dirt and major guard hair.

A healthy fibre market will provide the opportunity to all owners for a guaranteed future for their animals. This initiative is giving you the opportunity to obtain a guaranteed income and take the first step towards the future with better returns on your investment.

Each separate fleece must be presented in its own bag in order for it to be individually checked, sorted and the final fleece weighed.

In order to establish consistency throughout the company and across the various collection points it is essential to provide some criteria by which we can all work to the same standard. A useable fleece is basically the blanket, which can include the hips and the neck providing the length of the fleece is at least 50 mm in length. Lower legs, belly and chest fibre or stained fleece are not acceptable.

BREEDERS CLEAN FLEECE

SORTED WEIGHED RECEIPT

There is no expectation to prepare the fleeces as if you were going to present them at a show. Just a sensible clean fleece. The collection point people will advise you. There is a guarantee of payment within six months of your fleeces being accepted at the collection points. The company is endeavoring to make the whole process as easy as possible, in the shortest time and to the best advantage of the breeder. If you present clean fleeces then this will all occur without a problem.

SIX MONTHS PAYMENT

MOMENTUM 500 – Fibre Collection NEW ZEALAND OPERATIONS JOHN & NORMA BUSH Contact: 09 236 4227 OPERATIONS IN CHINA 8

JOHN DONALD

KEEPING RURAL GROWING.

If you want your business to grow, you need to take a few risks. Luckily FMG is here to help you manage those risks with practical advice and specialised rural insurance that’s right for you. It’s how we’ve been helping rural New Zealand grow for over 100 years. And it’s how we can help you continue to grow in the future. Ask around about us, or call 0800 366 466.

We’re here for the good of the country. 9 FMG0036AANZ

RUMPELSTILTSKIN SURI FIBRE PROJECT SPINNING SURI FIBRE INTO

GOLD

The Rumpelstiltskin project team is back in full swing. It has been a busy and exciting year for us. We have secured a buyer for the Rumpelstiltskin yarn which means we are purchasing fibre and the suri fibre industry continues to look bright. Already we have collected last years fleeces and as shearing is upon us we will be running more baling days to collect suri fibre. Having a market for our fibre is a great incentive to breed better quality fleece on our suri to deliver to this market.

programme and here are a couple of important things to rememberâ&#x20AC;Ś

standard deviation (SD) of the micron. This will be done at the baling days.

It is a good idea to do your fleece testing before shearing. This means you know on shearing day exactly how to treat each fleece for where it will end up.

Uniformity of micron is still one of the most important traits for you to concentrate on and it is highly heritable too. Having coarse primary fibres means that no matter how fine the secondary fibres are, your fleece will be downgraded into the seconds.

Thank you to the breeders who have contributed, especially those who have attended workshops previous to the baling days. Fleeces presented fully skirted and ready for testing makes the process faster and allows you to achieve a better return on your fibre.

During shearing, do your best to skirt fleeces as they are coming off the alpaca. This helps stop contamination of good fleece with the seconds. You will then only need to do a minimal check later to ensure that you haven't missed anything.

Colour contamination is not as detrimental as coarse primaries to your fleece as the fleece can be moved into another colour class but you do need to be mindful of this in your breeding programme especially when breeding for white fleece.

BREEDING

It is extremely important that we supply our buyers with exactly what they want. This means that all fleeces will be grid tested for micron and

A few reminders.....

SHEARING

Positive fleece qualities are important such as lustre, micron and density in your breeding 10

Suri breeders will be contacted soon with dates for the next baling days. As previously we will be collecting all micron bands and we will be stock piling any bands that do not currently have buyers, for use at a later date. If you have any questions about wanting to be involved, please contact us at the email below. We look forward to seeing you and your luxurious suri fibre soon! The Rumpelstiltskin team alpacas@surico.co.nz

Rumpelstiltskin Project A Breeders View

by Terri Cattell – Chipperfield Suri Alpacas How many of us small lifestyle blockers have a barn full of fleeces – some of which are more than a few years old?

I think for all of us it was a learning curve. And number one learning tip was how important the shearing process is.

Most of us struggle to find a market for our fleeces. There just isn't enough for a commercial run, unless you pool resources with a couple of buddies. And in the case of the Suri, there are even fewer of us to buddy together – we're a rare breed (in more senses than one). So the Rumpelstiltskin Project is a well-needed buddy system for Suri breeders. Together, we will hopefully be able to gather enough fleeces for a viable production run.

Fleeces were inspected for a number of characteristics that would make them suitable for commercial processing.

I took all my stash of fleeces along to the collection day at Shadow Wood, not really knowing what to expect. There were two sorting tables set up, with one concentrating on coloured fleeces, and another for white and light fawn. Paul Vallely was there with his fleece measurement equipment.

Two of the most important factors are micron and SD. This makes a difference to the batch your fleece would end up in (the finer and lower SD the better), and hence the price. But skirting was also a huge factor. A number of good fleeces couldn't be used because too much 'hairy' underbelly and variations in length were still in the fleece. Hermione recommended that – if possible – skirting was done as part of the shearing process. (I have attempted to put this into practice at this year's shearing, with a skirting table set up to tip the fleece onto immediately. With an extra pair of hands, it didn't take too much additional time).

Fleece length was also important. The staple length must be greater than 80 mm but less than 140 mm. Quite a number of beautiful fleeces were rejected because they were too long – especially from show animals. So for commercial fleeces, animals should be shorn at least once a year. And finally, the way that fleeces are stored makes a difference. Some of those older fleeces that had been tucked away for a few years couldn't be used, because they had become damp and musty. So it's important to make sure they're dry when they're put into storage, then kept dry. Or alternatively, make sure they get taken to the very next Rumplestiltskin collection day. All mine from this year's shearing are all lined up in the barn ready to go to the next collection. Can't wait to see a clear barn again! 11

THE

IMPORTANCE OF

CONTRACTS

by Cilla Taylor, Wild Palette Suri – Waimauku, Auckland

Cilla teaches for Unitec in Auckland and has written their course material for the National Certificate in Real Estate, which includes, amongst other legislation, a paper on the Fair Trading Act.

Honestly, do I really need a formal contract? Well – if nothing goes wrong, you might get away without one. If both parties deliver on their promises, and there were no misunderstandings, and the alpacas concerned were healthy and fertile and as good as they were cracked up to be, then all will be well. But what if something does go wrong? If something goes wrong, not only do you need a contract, but you need a well drafted contract. A well drafted contract protects both parties. All the “what ifs” will be covered. And with livestock being what it is, there are a lot of “what ifs”. Alpacas, generally, are expensive livestock. Some are very expensive. Stud fees are expensive. Transport costs are expensive. Quarantine is expensive. You could spend thousands of dollars, and lose the lot, if you don’t address the “what ifs” before they become a problem.

So, what can go wrong? Quite a lot can go wrong, especially when you’re dealing with livestock. Livestock is great, as long as it remains alive. Alive, healthy and problem free. Let’s have a look at some of the things that can go wrong and consider how a well drafted contract could clarify the position for both parties.

Buying and selling animals Let’s say you’ve agreed to buy (or sell) an alpaca. At what stage did you enter into a contract, when does ownership transfer, and who is liable if the animal is injured or dies during the process of the sale? The answer to this might surprise you and is covered under sections 5, 19 and 20 of the Sale of Goods Act 1908. It starts off in section 5 by describing a contract, saying “a contract of sale may be made in writing … or by word of mouth, or partly in writing and partly by word of mouth or may be implied from the conduct of the parties”. This means a contract may be verbal. So let’s say you’re at a show, and you rather fancy the animal in the ring. He comes out of the ring with his owner and a nice broad ribbon across his back. You say to the owner “Gee, he’s great, would you be prepared to sell him?” The owner says “Yes, but he’ll cost you

Signed: 12

$20,000” and you say “I’ll take him!” You’ve now entered into a contract. It’s a bit short in detail, but it is a contract. Now to find out when ownership transfers, let’s go back to the Sale of Goods Act. Section 19 of the Act says that ownership will transfer when the parties intend it to transfer – but you didn’t discuss that, so the intention is not clear. Section 20 now kicks in. It says that unless the intention is clearly specified, “where there is an unconditional contract for the sale of specific goods, in a deliverable state, the property in the goods passes to the buyer when the contract is made, and it is immaterial whether the time of payment or the time of delivery, or both, is postponed.” In other words, as soon as you did the deal, the animal became yours. The fact that you haven’t paid yet, and the old owner hasn’t handed him over to you, doesn’t matter. He is yours. If the animal drops dead from the shock of meeting you it’s you that’s digging the hole and what’s more, you still have to pay the $20,000 bill. If that’s bad enough, imagine if the animal hadn’t dropped dead, but had fallen to the ground comatose, and the steward had called the vet, and the vet had pulled out every stop to try to save him, and after weeks of intensive care and expensive treatment he animal finally breathed his last breath. You’ve guessed it – you’ve now got a vet’s bill to add to your woes.

Al Packer‑Byer

Joint ownership of animals

And to re-visit section 5 of the Act, did you notice that it also said that a contract may be implied from the conduct of the parties? So if you had said “Would you sell him?” and the owner said “Yes, he’s $20,000”, and you had said “Hmmm, a bit expensive, but it would make sense for me to take him home with me today, let me think about it”, and then at the end of the show the owner had said “Well?” and handed the lead to you, and you had loaded the animal into your float – at that point you entered into contract. It was implied by your conduct. If he dies in the float on the way home you still owe the $20,000. Consider the implications of all this to purchases you make online. As soon as you click “Buy Now” you have entered into a contract, and the animal is yours. The animal though is still on the farm of origin, under the care (or lack of care) of the old owner. If the old owner leaves the gate open and the animal runs away it was your animal that disappeared in a trail of dust. If he’s attacked by a dog, castrated by a paddock mate, hit by a meteorite … you get the picture. So, apart from specifying the time of transfer of ownership, what else should a contract contain? The cost of AANZ transfers is usually borne by the seller, but sometimes with the sale of low priced animals it may be the buyer who has to pay. Is this clear in the contract? Who is going to pay transport costs? The costs of any procedures, like TB testing, that are to take place between the date of the contract and the date of transfer, are to be paid by which party? If the alpaca is female, is she pregnant, and to whom? And what will happen if the pregnancy fails, or the cria dies, or is born deformed? If the alpaca is sold as a future breeding animal, what if it proves to be infertile? What if the male is sold as a future stud, and is fertile but fails certification because of a heart defect? If the contract addresses all these things in advance there will be no nasty surprises or arguments later on.

It has long been common for stud males to be owned jointly, but with ET it is now becoming more common for joint ownership to apply to donor females as well. Written contracts are expected by owners under these circumstances because the arrangement is complicated, but make sure you have considered all the “what ifs” before committing to the contract. Who has the responsibility/liability for the animal’s health and who will pay the vet’s fees if required? Does one party have to contact the other parties if the vet is to be called? If the decision is made to euthanize the animal, do all owners have to agree? Under what circumstances can one owner make the decision without the go-ahead of the other owners? In the case of ET, who pays the costs involved in achieving pregnancies, and who gets the cria? What’s the arrangement if you jointly own the stud male, or the donor female, or both? In the case of joint ownership of a stud male (not necessarily being used for ET), and with all parties having the right to use the male, can any of the parties sell his services to outsiders? Do all owners have equal rights? Are there geographic limitations? Or can any owner sell to anyone anywhere in the country? Who gets the fee? Can you discount? Where does this shared stud male spend most of his time? When can you have him at your place? How is he going to get there? Who pays the transport costs? Can you use him for ET if you want to, in your own breeding programme? Can you sell his services to an outsider for use in their ET breeding programme? And if you want to sell your share in the animal how do you go about this – do you have to offer it to the other owners first or can you sell to anyone on the open market for whatever price you like? Do you have to advise the other owners of your intention to sell? How much notice is required?

Leasing animals Usually, if an alpaca is to be leased it will be a male, on lease for stud services. Many of the points to be considered are the same as those above relating to joint ownership, but in addition to those points consider the length of the lease and when your

rights expire. If the lease finishes on 31 March 2016, and he has a parting fling with a young female on April 1, will you have to pay a normal stud fee? It is also possible to lease females, either to mate to your own male, or to use as recipient dams in an ET programme. How long is the lease for? Do you have time to get them all pregnant, and for all the cria to be born, before the lease expires? If they unpack after the lease expires, who gets the cria? What if some are not capable of achieving a successful pregnancy? What if some of them prove to be already pregnant when you get them? Does the contract provide remedies in these circumstances?

Selling stud services Most contracts for stud services offer a “live birth” guarantee. Of course, you can’t really guarantee a live birth, but you can provide remedies if there isn’t one. But what is a live birth? Does the contract make it clear? The cria emerged alive, but died as it landed on the ground. Was that a live birth? The cria was born alive, and landed alive, but five minutes later the dam trampled on it and killed it. If the stud service contract offers a free repeat mating where there is no live birth, does the trampled cria qualify for the free repeat mating? What if the cria was trampled when it was a week of age? Two weeks? A month? Six months? What if the cria dies during the birthing process, so the stud owner provides a free repeat mating, and the same thing happens again next year, and then again the following year, and it proves that the female has birthing problems that may never be resolved. For how many years is the stud owner obliged to provide repeat matings to this female? What if the pregnancy fails, and the stud male has died or become infertile? Those events are outside the control of the owner of the male. What if the stud male has been exported? That situation is within the control of the owner of the male. Does the owner of the dam get their money back, or do they have to accept a mating to an alternative, but inferior male? Did they know in advance that the male may be exported? And if the female dies, does her owner have the right to transfer the mating to another female? 13

Agisting animals

Other services

If your alpacas live at someone else’s place there will probably be agistment fees. How much are the fees, and what do they cover? Additional feed in winter or droughts, zinc in the FE season, TB testing for the host herd? Vitamin D shots, worming, inoculations?

There are a myriad of other services associated with alpacas. Some of these could impact on the health of the animal, such as shearing, transportation and quarantine. There are services that provide equipment such as halters and cria coats, and yet others that add value to farmers such as carding or spinning fleeces, or offering software for management systems or marketing assistance. In all these cases the owners, and the service providers, should be clear as to what their expectations are, what the fees are and under what circumstances the fees can be increased or waived, and what the remedies are if things go wrong. What happens if the neighbour’s rampaging bull breaks into the quarantine while your six females are there awaiting exportation, so the export has to be cancelled? What happens if the mill loses your prize fleece or if the transportation people crash their truck while your show team is on board? Does the contract make it clear who will accept liability and what compensation will be offered?

How often can the fees be increased, and by what amount? How much notice must be given before fees can be increased? Who pays for shearing? Who gets the fleece? Who pays vet’s fees if the vet is called out to the animal? What if the problem that caused the vet to be called arose from negligent management practices on the host farm? What if the agisted animal causes problems on the host farm, damaging property or injuring other animals on the farm? Does the contract for agistment cover all these things or do the parties end up falling out and writing abusive messages on each other’s Facebook pages?

So, after all this, what should I do? • Firstly, ask for a written contract before you enter into any agreement with another breeder or service provider. If they don’t have one ask them to create one. • Secondly, read it. Don’t do what you do when you download software and click “I agree to the terms and conditions” when you haven’t actually read them. • Thirdly, think about all the things that could go wrong – or things that might go better than expected – and see whether you agree with the way that these will be handled. If you don’t agree, propose an alternative solution. If there are things missing from the contract, add them in. If you can’t negotiate a fair and reasonable contract with the other party, then probably you shouldn’t be doing business with them.

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ALPACA CHROMOSOMES AND â&#x20AC;&#x192; GENE MAPPING We are living in the era of genomics where whole genomes of individual humans or animals, including alpacas, can be sequenced on almost daily basis. This progress is driven by a revolutionary technology known as next generation sequencing (NGS). It might, therefore, seem old-fashioned talking about chromosomes when we can directly examine each of the approximately 3 billion DNA bases in mammalian genomes. However, things are not so simple, and the aim of this story is to show that chromosome research is not out-of-date, not a topic of the past. Just the opposite: massive production of new genome sequence information requires improved knowledge about the chromosomes and chromosome maps.

What are chromosomes? An average mammalian genome comprises 3 billion DNA bases which, if stretched out, measure about 2 meters. In order to fit into cells with a diameter of 10 micrometers, the DNA is packaged with multiple proteins into distinct structures the chromosomes. Chromosomes are located in the cell nucleus and show species-specific features in number, size and appearance. The chromosome complement of a species is called the karyotype and the field of science studying the chromosomes is cytogenetics. There are at least three good reasons to study chromosomes. First, chromosome complement, or karyotype, is the business card of a species and can be used to tell species apart. Second, chromosomes serve as a health certificate for an individual, a tissue, or a cell because changes in chromosome number, shape and structure lead to abnormal development, congenital

disorders, diseases and infertility. Finally and most importantly, chromosomes are the holders and carriers of the genetic information. They are the home for all our genes, and also the vehicles that faithfully carry genetic information from cell to cell, from generation to generation. It is not an overestimation to say chromosomes are the key players in almost every aspect of the biology of a cell and individual.

The alpaca genome and chromosomes Alpaca genome is packaged into 74 chromosomes. Of these, 36 pairs are autosomes and present in both males and females, while one pair is the sex chromosomes. Females have two X chromosomes, males one X and one Y chromosome. All this applies to body cells, which are diploid. Germ cells, the sperm and eggs, only have 37 chromosomes which, after fertilization, become 74 again in the zygote. In scientific literature, the diploid chromosome number of female and male alpacas is denoted as 74,XX and 74,XY, respectively (Figure 1).

by Terje Raudsepp, Ph.D Terje Raudsepp is an Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Raudsepp studied genetics and cytology at Tartu University in Estonia, and received her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics in 1999 from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden. Dr. Raudsepp has 20 years of research experience in the areas of mammalian cytogenetics and genomics with special focus on the genomics of mammalian sex chromosomes, and the genomics of reproduction. Her research interests include comparative genomics and molecular cytogenetics; organization, function and evolution of sex chromosomes; genomics of sexual development and reproduction; equine genomics - genomics of genetic diseases and congenital disorders; and alpaca and camelid genomics. Dr. Raudsepp has received funding from federal (USDA) and private (Morris Animal Foundation, American Quarter Horse Association, Alpaca Research Foundation) agencies. Her publications include 102 research papers and 11 book chapters published in journals such as Science, PNAS, Genome Research, and PLoS Genetics.

Figure 1. Karyotypes of female and male alpacas.

Among mammals, the alpaca chromosome number is on the high side. For comparison, cats have 38, mice 40, humans 46, cattle 60, horses 64 and dogs 78 chromosomes. However, the Indian muntjac deer with 6 chromosomes in females and 7 in males, and the South American red vizcacha rat with 102 chromosomes hold the absolute lowest and highest records in mammals, respectively. Interestingly, all the closest relatives of alpacas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the llama, vicuna and guanaco from South America, and the dromedary and Bactrian camels from Asia and Africa-- have very similar karyotypes. All have 74 chromosomes, with sizes and shapes across species being so similar it is impossible to tell alpaca apart from other camelids solely by examining the chromosomes. This indicates that despite 11 million years of separate evolution of the New and Old World camelids, and their very distinct anatomical and physiological adaptations to deserts and high altitudes, respectively, camelid karyotypes have remained extremely conserved. The advantage of such conservation is that if we have good knowledge about the chromosomes in one species, we can effectively use that knowledge in the study of all other camelids. Despite 50 years of cytogenetic studies in the alpaca and other camelids (the first publications date back to 1965), there is no common agreement about how to recognize each chromosome and how to arrange them into pairs in the karyotype. The reason is the high chromosome number and the absence of distinct cytogenetic features for chromosome identification. This seriously limits proper cross-talk between research groups and has hindered the progress of clinical cytogenetics (the discovery of chromosome abnormalities), as well as gene mapping, in alpacas and all other camelids. An important breakthrough took place in 2002 when the alpaca was nominated and funded by National Human Genome Research Institute for whole genome sequencing. The selected animal was a female huacaya alpaca named Nyala Empress Carlotta, who died of lymphoma in 2013 as reported by the owner, Dr. David A. Merriwether. Carlottaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genome was sequenced two times, first by the traditional (Sanger) sequencing technology and the second time on a next generation platform (Roche 454). 18

Despite this outstanding progress, the sequences have not yet been aligned to physical chromosomes. Thus, we have alpaca chromosomes, but cannot tell them apart, and we have the alpaca whole genome sequence, but do not know which sequence belongs to which chromosome. Therefore, in 2009 we came up with a solution: to construct a whole genome cytogenetic map for the alpaca by assigning genes and molecular markers to each chromosome. Such a map will anchor the genome sequences to physical chromosomes, and will give us needed markers for easy and unmistakable identification of every alpaca and camelid chromosome.

A cytogenetic map of the alpaca genome Cytogenetic maps are based on a method known as Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization or FISH, which permits determination of the location of genes and other DNA sequences in their original place (Latin: in situ) on the chromosome. FISH has two major components - the probe and the target. The targets are chromosomes, while the probes can be different kinds of DNA sequences. The probes are labeled with fluorescent molecules, so their location on chromosomes, after hybridization, can be seen in a fluorescence microscope. The use of spectrally distinct fluorescent molecules allows simultaneous localization and visualization of two, three or even more probes in one experiment. This way we can see at once the location of two or more genes, decide whether or not they are on the same chromosome, and if they are, determine their relative order. Such a FISH experiment is illustrated in Figure 2 showing the location of two genes in the largest alpaca chromosome, chromosome 1. The red probe corresponds to an important embryonic development gene, SOX2, and the green probe to an anonymous alpaca DNA sequence from the genome sequence assembly. The two sequences are in the same chromosome and the green probe is closer to the centromere, seen as a constriction. Most importantly, this tells us that all DNA sequences in close vicinity to these two markers in the alpaca genome sequence assembly are also located in chromosome 1.

Figure 2. Microscope capture of FISHmapping two genes to alpaca chromosome 1.

In this way, we designed and fluorescently labeled probes for 230 alpaca genes and DNA markers, and constructed cytogenetic maps for all alpaca chromosomes. Each chromosome has now at least two FISH-mapped markers, though most have five to 15 markers. The alpaca whole genome cytogenetic map is the first of its kind in any camelid species and an important landmark for alpaca genomics. The map anchors almost all genome sequences to defined chromosomes and chromosomal regions, showing which genes are close neighbors and which are located in different chromosomes. The knowledge is important for better understanding of gene interactions and for the study of genes important for alpaca health and traits of biological and human interest. Also, the linear order of genes and markers in each chromosome is needed for validating the genome sequence assembly. Of the 230 genes/markers mapped in the alpaca, 100 genes were also mapped in dromedary chromosomes, and some in the llama. Importantly, all mapped to the same chromosomes and to the same positions in all three species, confirming the extraordinary conservation of these genomes in course of evolution.

This is illustrated in Figure 3, showing the cytogenetic map of chromosome 36 in the alpaca, llama and dromedary. Even though the alpaca/llama and camel chromosomes are slightly different in appearance, the location and order of all mapped markers are identical. These findings are very important: the 230 markers mapped in the alpaca are good for the chromosomes of all other camelid species. We just â&#x20AC;&#x153;killed two birds with one stone.â&#x20AC;?

New tools for alpaca clinical cytogenetics The 230 cytogenetically mapped markers, for the first time give us reliable tools to tell alpaca chromosomes apart for analyzing chromosome rearrangements in developmentally or reproductively abnormal animals. They also help us understand possible genetic consequences of chromosome abnormalities. In case of translocations, when chromosomes from different pairs fuse, we can tell which genes are moved around, forming new neighborhoods. In case of extra chromosomes (such as in the human Down Syndrome, where chromosome 21 has three copies instead of two), we know which genes get over-dosed, or if chromosomes or chromosome parts are lost, we can trace which genes are lost as well. To illustrate this, let me bring just a few examples from our recent studies. More than five years ago we discovered a chromosome abnormality in a 10-year old completely sterile male llama. His karyotype was 73,XY, thus having one chromosome less than normal. This was because two chromosomes from different pairs had fused (translocation) and formed one large abnormal chromosome (derivative chromosome). At that time we had no chromosome markers and we were not able to tell which chromosomes were involved. Now, with the alpaca cytogenetic gene map in hand, we selected a set of markers from the most likely candidate chromosomes and carried out a series of FISH experiments in the sterile llama. We showed that the abnormal chromosome was the result of a translocation between chromosomes 12 and 20 (Figure 4). Incidentally, this is the first cytogenetically and molecularly characterized chromosomal translocation in camelids.

Figure 3. The cytogenetic maps of alpaca, llama and camel chromosome 36 are almost identical, though the shape of this chromosome in camelids is slightly different.

Figure 4. Chromosome abnormality in a sterile male llama.

Figure 5. The minute chromosome in alpacas: FISH analysis with a chromosome 36 specific marker (green) and a marker for multiple copies of acquired genes (red) explains the size difference in this pair of chromosomes.

Another story is about the alpaca minute chromosome (Figure 5). The latter has been found in some infertile female alpacas that overall have a normal 74,XX karyotype, though one of the smallest chromosomes is smaller than normal. It is thought

that the minute is an abnormally small chromosome 36, though without molecular markers there was no way to prove this. Likewise, it was not clear what happened: has the chromosome lost some DNA, or did part of it join with another chromosome? 19

We used chromosome 36 specific markers and showed that, indeed, the minute is chromosome 36, but nothing has been lost, nothing moved. Instead, the other, the supposedly normal chromosome 36, is too large. It has acquired multiple copies of genes needed for building ribosomes and protein synthesis, though normally alpaca chromosome 36 does not have these genes. Due to this, one chromosome 36 becomes very large, and the normal one looks very small giving an impression of being a minute. Because one chromosome 36 has genes that are not present on its partner, pairing of the two might be a problem during the formation of gametes, leading to infertility. This is a brief overview of the findings, though there is more to it and the minute chromosome research continues. However, the bottom line is we now have reliable and efficient tools to analyze all kinds of chromosome abnormalities in alpacas and all other camelids.

Acknowledgments The author is grateful to a group of excellent and dedicated researchers for their important contributions to alpaca gene mapping and chromosome studies, including: Dr. Felipe Avila The above described studies were part of his Ph.D project at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. Dr. Avila continues his research career at the University of Minnesota; Malorie P. Baily Undergraduate student at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX; Renuka Chowdhary Texas A& M University, College Station, TX; Dr. Pranab J. Das National Research Centre on Yak, Dirang, India;

Dr. Michelle A. Kutzler Oregon State University, OR; Dr. David A. Merriwether Binghamton University, NY; Elaine Owens Texas A&M University, College Station, TX; Dr. Polina Perelman Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Novosibirsk State University, Russia; Dr. Vladimir A. Trifonov Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Novosibirsk State University, Russia; I am also grateful to Morris Animal Foundation and the Alpaca Research Foundation for funding these studies.

Dr. Jan Jane ka Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.; Dr. Warren E. Johnson Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, VA;

Reprinted with permission from Alpacas Magazine.

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We can provide discounted fibre testing rates. You are paid as the fibre is sold, less the direct costs. We have paid out in excess of $200,000 in the past 4 years to more than 200 breeders. We can arrange pickup or you can ship to our Cromwell location. Contact Teri Edwards at (029) 770 0005 or (03) 445 1609 or email teri@ggocc.com For more information visit:

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CAMEL, ALPACA ANTIBODIES TARGET ANTICANCER VIRUSES DIRECTLY TO TUMORS

Using antibodies from camels and alpacas, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to deliver anticancer viruses directly to tumor cells, leaving other types of cells uninfected.

The new study was conducted in human cells grown in the lab. According to the investigators, it demonstrates the possibility of directly delivering genetically engineered viruses to specific cells. The goal is to infect only cancer cells and then trigger the virus to replicate until the cells burst, killing them and releasing more of the targeted viruses.

the virus’s replication machinery. Once that switch is flipped, the virus replicates until the cell bursts, killing the cell and releasing more viruses that can potentially infect other cells.

by Julia Evangelou Strait

Limiting virus replication and cell death only to cancer cells is helpful in reducing side effects of the treatment. But the technology is still inefficient because so much of the injected virus never finds the tumor and is essentially wasted.

The scientists showed that unlike human antibodies or those of most other animals, the antibodies of camels and alpacas survive the harsh environment inside cells and retain the ability to seek out targets, potentially solving a longstanding problem in the field of gene therapy. “For decades, investigators have been putting human or mouse antibodies on viruses, and they haven’t worked — the antibodies would lose their targeting ability,” said senior author David T. Curiel, MD, PhD, distinguished professor of radiation oncology. “It was a technical problem. During replication, the virus is made in one part of the cell, and the antibody is made in another. To incorporate the two, the antibody is dragged through the internal fluid of the cell. This is a harsh environment for the antibodies, so they unfold and lose their targeting ability.” Typical antibodies (top) unfold in the harsh environment of the cell. Camelid antibodies (bottom) are smaller and more stable. Antibodies are proteins of the immune system that travel through the bloodstream and recognize potential threats to the body, whether bacteria, viruses or abnormal cells. Most antibodies have a characteristic Y shape. The tips of the Y form a “lock” that binds to a specific “key” carried by foreign bodies that the immune system should destroy. 22

The research appears Feb. 18 in Molecular Therapy—Oncolytics.

Credit: S. Kaliberov Typical antibodies (top) unfold in the harsh environment of the cell. Camelid antibodies (bottom) are smaller and more stable.

According to Curiel, recent work by other groups has identified an unusually small and stable class of antibodies made by camels, alpacas and related species collectively classified as camelids. The “lock” of camelid antibodies consists of the stem of the Y only, so it can’t unfold in the harsh internal environment of the cell. “We found that when we incorporated the camelid antibodies into the virus, they retained their binding specificity,” Curiel said. “This opens the door to targeting these antibodies to specific tumor markers.” Currently available viral-based cancer therapeutics and those in human trials are not targeted directly to tumor cells. Indeed, these therapeutic viruses can infect almost any cell type. But they are genetically engineered to replicate only inside tumor cells. The viral DNA code is rewritten so that only tumor cells carry the molecular switch that activates

“We want this new level of targeting specificity because it would allow us to inject the virus into the bloodstream, where it would exclusively infect and replicate in tumor cells, even if they are disseminated throughout the body,” Curiel said. “These viruses are already engineered to replicate only in tumors. These camelid antibodies would enable them to become even more tumor-specific and open the door for use in metastatic cancer.” After demonstrating this proof of concept, the next step is to design viruses with camelid antibodies against a specific tumor and test it in an animal model of the disease, Curiel said. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant numbers 5P50 CA101955, 5R01 CA154697; the Stichting Jo Kolk Studiefonds and the Dutch Cancer Society. van Erp EA, Kaliberova LN, Kaliberov SA, Curiel DT. Retargeted oncolytic adenovirus displaying a single variable domain of camelid heavy-chain-only antibody in a fiber protein. Molecular Therapy—Oncolytics. Feb. 18, 2015. Julia Evangelou Strait, MS Senior Medical Sciences Writer Office of Medical Public Affairs, Washington University in St. Louis

The Auckland Area of Creative Fibre New Zealand are holding our National Festival at Pukekohe, South Auckland next year, and we extend a warm welcome to those engaged or interested in �ibre - from animal breeders to crafters, and everyone in between! Held over four days, 28 April to 1 May 2016, there will be something for everyone. Even if you’re not a Creative Fibre member, Day Passes will be available to the public, providing access to The Hub (where various displays will be held), the Fashion Display (where jury-selected pieces from the Runway Show and Fashion Challenge will be shown) and any remaining workshop places, if there are any left. In addition, the public will be able to enter the Marketplace for a small fee, and indulge their stashenhancing urges. Many wonderful traders will be there, so don’t miss it! If you’re not currently a Creative Fibre member, and would like to take full advantage of what a National Festival offers, you can register to attend from the website, and at the same time join up for an annual membership fee of only $35. Along with getting to attend Festival, you will enjoy all the advantages Creative Fibre membership offers - our full-to-the-brim quarterly magazine, members-only rates at workshops and special events, groups in your area and much more. See all the details on our website:

www.creativeϐibre.org.nz/festival2016

International Tutors

Dagmar Binder �ibre artist and feltmaker

Pam de Groot �ibre and textile artist

Marketplace

Shop till you drop! Or at least until you can’t carry any more...

Runway Show and Exhibition

Not to be missed special events for textile and �ibrecraft enthusiasts!

Workshops & Lectures

A great range of workshops (that are �illing up fast!) and fascinating lectures 23

KIWI FARM ALPACAS

WORKSHOP Kiwi Farm Alpacas (KFA) is a group of 8 Canterbury alpaca breeders that have combined to promote alpacas.

After many weeks of planning KFA held its first workshop for “potential alpaca owners”. The workshop catered not only to people looking to enter the alpaca industry but also to those people that are new to alpacas and wanting to learn more about these wonderful animals. The day was reasonably structured and covered such topics as: Introduction to Alpacas Origin of alpaca, population spread, types of alpaca, colour, camelid family and lifespan. Alpaca Care Inoculations, worming, nail trimming, shearing, feeding, farm set up, fencing and shelter etc. Alpaca Breeding Breed standard, breeding choices, stud matings, birthing, lactating females, cria care, ear tagging, shows, field days and workshops. Alpaca Economies/Products Fleece/fibre, added value, live export, local sales (pets, fibre producers, breeding females, stud males), meat and manure. 24

The day also included some practical demonstrations such as nail trimming, injections, fleece skirting and cleaning. A farm tour was also included. The day was considered very successful with 24 attendees plus partners from KFA. We have received some very positive feedback from the attendees with some comments about having another workshop at a higher level i.e. for those that already have alpaca but who want to get more into breeding/showing etc. The KFA will look to hold further

workshops in the future. I think the only advice we could give for others thinking along these lines is to ensure that you prepare your material carefully, have a target audience/group and allow sufficient time i.e. don’t rush things. The partners in KFA are: • Stoney Meadows Alpacas • Aquaviva Alpacas • Belise Alpacas • Awatere Alpacas • Starlight Alpacas • Styx River Farm Alpacas • Otaio Bridge Alpacas • Rustic Dawn Alpacas

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27/02/14 4:21 pm

THE SOUTH AFRICAN ALPACA BREEDERS’ SOCIETY

ALPACA HEALTH

CONFERENCE

17-18 June 2015 Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic, Winelands, Western Cape, South Africa

Members of the South African Alpaca Breeders’ Society were excited to be able to bring to Cape Town Professor Christopher Cebra from Oregon State University to talk at our ‘milestone’ conference – the first in South Africa on alpaca health.

Conference venue.

Professor Christopher Cebra.

Conference practical two.

Forty-five delegates attended the SAABS Alpaca Health Conference which was held on 17th and 18th June at the Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic a purpose built facility providing unparalleled veterinary care in the Western Cape predominantly for horses but also for livestock and small animals.

Professor Chris Cebra has been working with camelids for over twenty years having started as an intern on the East Coast of the United States and working his way steadily westward. He has written and coauthored over 70 scientific camelid research projects and attends and presents at conferences worldwide. Professor Cebra is currently Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

up his audience which led to a very relaxed atmosphere in the meeting.

The growing alpaca industry in South Africa is already placing an emphasis on fibre and the finished products. This typically includes exclusive knitted fashionwear, woven products, top end felting as well as luxury alpaca fibre-filled duvets. The Society is becoming more cohesive and structured and the time seemed right to proceed in the direction of alpaca health education which was the focus of this two day conference. 26

Attendance included alpaca owner-breeders, animal health technicians, pharmaceutical company representatives, as well as 18 veterinarians drawn from around the provinces. Despite a somewhat chilly conference room – it is winter in the Cape in June – Professor Cebra’s natural enthusiasm quickly fired-

Topics under the spotlight included neonatal health care including a video of a birthing sequence – useful for new breeders as well as the pharmaceutical representatives. Diseases specific to South Africa were also discussed, and here Professor Cebra was assisted by Professor Montague Saulez a South African specialist in equine internal medicine and who also has extensive knowledge of camelids. A recent suspected case of West Nile Fever in the Western Cape as well as the 2010 outbreak of Rift Valley Fever were both discussed and much emphasis was laid on parasitic problems, their symptoms and effect on alpacas. Because of the diversity of climatic and geographical conditions in South Africa there is no one feedstuff which

is specifically directed toward camelids and it was interesting here to discuss nutrition in some depth, the nutrients required by alpacas, minerals needed for healthy alpacas and what safe supplement to include in the feed. The presentation on bloodwork was of immense value most specifically to the veterinarians who, undoubtedly, would have liked more time for this paper as was the case for both practical sessions where ultrasound was demonstrated, its value to diagnostic imaging discussed and its use for pregnancy scanning.

in this two day programme, with the intention of narrowing down the topics and becoming more focussed in future workshops and seminars. To this end delegates were invited to evaluate the event and put forward suggestions for the future. Conclusions? That in in the main delegates would like to see longer presentations and definitely more practical hands-on sessions.

A fairly wide spectrum of alpaca and camelid related issues was covered

Christopher Cebra’s delightful wife Margaret and three children flew in to Cape Town two days after he did and had slept off their jetlag by the end of the conference when several Society members enjoyed supper in Franchhoek

DVC conference room.

Chris Cebra – examination.

(centre of the Winelands!) with Chris and his family, Montague Saulez and his wife and Ian Heyns, senior veterinarian at Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic. Local sponsorship saw enough cash raised to pay for Professor Cebra’s very long flight from Portland, Oregon to Cape Town via Amsterdam while other forms of sponsorship included copies of NZ Alpaca magazines which we dropped into delegates’ bags. A very big thank you to Robyn Anderson ... a great addition to the conference pack! AJLN 30 September 2015

Professor Cebra demonstrates on an alpaca.

The conference backstory… by Alison Notley – Helderstroom Alpacas, Western Cape, South Africa It all began last year when I had to take Pepper, who was one half of our most celebrated, alpaca twins and the only pair of twins in South Africa, every two weeks to have her tummy drained. She had developed ascites caused by a number of things, and tragically we lost her in February this year. A very sad day for Helderstroom and a loss to the South African alpaca industry. The most extraordinary little alpaca. Anyway, that in itself is another whole story. Whilst treating Pepper I got talking to Professor Montague Saulez about the possibility of holding an alpaca health conference. I had spent 30 years of my working life as a conference organising consultant and was keen to put one together. Our large animal vets had thus far done sterling work on alpacas given

their knowledge of horses, cattle and sheep. Montague offered to act as a consultant and suggested Christopher Cebra as our keynote speaker. Montague had spent four years at Oregon State University working with Chris Cebra. Work began on this in about September last year and the conference was held in June 2015. It was to be a “minimumfrills” event put together with a limited budget. Sponsorship was sought, mainly to cover Chris Cebra’s air fare from Portland, Oregon to Cape Town. Happily we almost reached the full amount of the airfare and extras and the shortfall was easily met from delegates’ registration fees. In fact, although we took the risk, the Society made a profit on this event. Abstracts and full papers were submitted to the South

Montague, Christopher, Pepper and Alison.

African Veterinary Council who awarded CPD points to the vets attending. Other sessions in the two day programme included two practical sessions: first one demonstrating ultrasound as a diagnostic tool and the second on vaccinations and drawing blood, and general alpaca maintenance. We also had a lively open forum as the last session of day two. 27

S UTH by Caroline Falkner

In January 2014 we made the big move we had been planning for 2 years to our dream location, Queenstown. After 12 years of farming alpaca in Miranda, just south of Auckland, this was a big change for us – and the alpacas! Although we were fairly confident we were making the right decision, it involved a lot of planning and many trips south to make it all happen without too much drama. The hunt for the perfect block of land took almost 2 years before we found the right one. We knew we were going to have to downsize, so we started selling and re-homing our alpacas to get down to a manageable number with the bloodlines we wanted to continue breeding with. Not easy but by December 2013 we were down to the chosen group. When considering the land, we wanted a sunny position – we were close to buying a nice 22 acre block until we returned the next morning 28

and realized the sun didn’t appear over the mountains until 11am and was gone again by 2pm. Simply by moving across the highway, the land was bathed in all day sun. Luckily we managed to find a piece of land, just under 3 hectares, with living accommodation that we could use whilst building our home and most of the fencing and irrigation already done. The land had natural contours and a sheltered gully that we thought would be beneficial in bad weather. Water – not something we really worried about in Miranda, but definitely something to consider in such a dry location. Rainfall in Gibbston Valley is around 375mm a year. Our water is pumped from a nearby river and we have sufficient to irrigate and plenty of potable water. We also discovered that Gibbston has its own microclimate – somewhat warmer than Queenstown itself, hence the vineyards that define the valley.

Finally the day came for the first group to arrive, transported by Brenor Alpaca Transport on their inaugural trip – 8 females looking very relaxed and eager to check out their new environment as they jumped out of the van. They just looked fantastic in the paddocks – I knew right then and there that it was just the perfect environment for them. Our first cria arrived in April – 2 girls and 2 boys, all very healthy and with straight forward births, so the move had not caused any problems for them. Late May saw the arrival of our 2 males and another 3 females. With them arrived the snow – the first real snow I had seen for 21 years. The small Outpost barn we had built proved perfect for the girls – with coats on the cria and plenty of haylage and chaff for the mums, everyone was happy. I think I did more worrying than the alpacas. The snow was gone in 2 days and now that we have had another winter (a harsh one according

to neighbours) any concerns we had about the alpacas (and us) coping with the colder climate have disappeared. The alpine climate suits them well – it is very dry and rarely throws all elements at us at once. Health issues, such as FE, ryegrass staggers and skin problems that are common in the humidity of the North are gone. Parasites are a minor concern with the dry and the cold. The pasture of brome, tall fescue and cocksfoot is ideal for them. Feed through the winter months is the only real problem and as we don’t have a large barn for hay storage, I source good quality baleage which the animals love. We have managed to get to a few shows and hope to do more in time. They are a bit further afield than we are used to. Last January, we had a small trade stand at the local Lake Hayes A&P show and introduced suri to Queenstown – they were a big hit! There are no other suri around the area that I know of. Only a handful alpaca owners and it does not appear anyone is seriously breeding. Maybe we can slowly help to change that. It is an alpaca paradise and well worth the upheaval of moving.

Caroline and Henrik Falkner own Paqocha Alpaca, an alpaca stud breeding Suri alpaca. They also offer farm tours and holiday accommodation. Their animals can be found all around the country and as far away as France and Sweden. The farm is set in the beautiful Gibbston Valley, just outside Queenstown in Central Otago.

GUCCI

MISS DIOR

MIMOSA

SAMSARA

ELI SA AB

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S A BLACK FLUSH! 5 DRAWN FROM THE SAME STUD 5 Females by Warramunga Downs Kalarni, from 5 Different Dams DRAW ONE, TWO or DRAW THE FULL HAND GUCCI

IAR: 1012651 DOB: 05/12/2012 DAM: Crusader Texas T Gucci placed third in class AANZ National EXPO 2013 Mated to Warramunga Downs Enyo

MIMOSA

IAR: 1006145 DOB: 23/11/2012 DAM: Sherlin Asha Not Mated

MISS DIOR

IAR: 1012656 DOB: 23/01/2014 DAM: Belise Shalimar Not Mated

SAMSARA

IAR: 1006144 DOB: 06/03/2013 DAM: Belise Chloe Mated to Warramunga Downs Enyo

ELI SAAB

IAR: 1012655 DOB: 15/01/2014 DAM: Banksia Park Mangu Maiden ET Not Mated

First time these genetic combinations have been offered for sale in New Zealand! 19 Alessio Lane, Swannanoa. | Phone: 03 312 0278 | Mobile: 0274 342 708 | Email: pacas@belisealpaca.co.nz

www.belisealpaca.co.nz

SUSTAINABLE

ALPACA FARMING Nestled on the outskirts of Hastings, in the Maraekakaho valley, the Mesa Natural Fibre Mill specialises in processing fine, exotic fleeces. The Mesa Meat Company produces 100% New Zealand gourmet Alpaca meat products, from prime cuts to a range of small goods, such as sausages, burger patties, pies and meatballs to restaurants, home chefs and speciality meat outlets throughout New Zealand.

10 years ago the suggestion that alpaca could be killed for meat production ruffled quite a few fleeces, however if we were to consider how alpaca are used in their land of origin and how New Zealand farmers produce beef and lamb it makes complete sense. For a start, alpaca have a stocking rate very close to that of sheep, around 4-6 per acre and due to their camelid like feet, they do not damage pastures or native grass. They utilise their food more efficiently than other animals and do not require special fencing or housing indoors during winter. Alpaca are a low care animal and reasonably disease resistant. At Mesa Farm in Maraekakaho, Hawke’s Bay, we have moved on from 2 cute pets to farming large numbers of alpaca in an on–going and sustainable environment. We have been breeding alpaca for 13 years and processing the fibre for 9 years. New Zealand has a worldwide reputation for its clean green image and excellence in turning agricultural industries into viable businesses, so there is no reason that alpaca can’t be added to that list. However, as with any farming venture not all animals are created equal for either breeding purposes or quality fibre production. The animals used in this venture are animals that are surplus to those requirements. Removing these animals from herds enables the breeder to concentrate on quality and removes the burden of feeding and maintaining unsuitable stock clogging up farms and lifestyle blocks. In the main, New Zealand Alpaca have been farmed for the quality of the animal and fleece

by Tessa and Peter McKay

mostly by lifestyle block farmers and hobbyist, but we believe in finding ways to use every part of the animal, fleece, meat and hides. With this in mind, we obtained a license for the commercial slaughter of alpaca for the meat trade in New Zealand. This project took close to two years research and 7 months to gain the RMP through our government. The main obstacles were that nothing had been licensed in New Zealand for alpaca including drench use. Microbiology samples were collected from each carcass and analysed. The information needed to support this was hard to find and we approached overseas vets for the additional information required. All in all, considerable cost and time was involved to achieve the license and to begin processing the meat. From shearing and producing fine fibre from our own animals as well as providing a toll production services to a large number of alpaca fleece growers, we now supply high-end meat cuts and a range of small goods to a number of businesses throughout New Zealand. Approximately 50% of the animal is produced into consumable meat cuts and from there we found ways to use the rest of the animal with as little waste as possible. It’s interesting to note that the fat on these animals is found though the shoulder area. Could this be a camelid influence less the hump? Alpaca is a healthy meat alternative, being low in fat and cholesterol and high in protein. The flavour is not strong or gamey and lends itself to cooking in many different ways. 31

AYMARA GOURMET ALPACA CUTS 100% NEW ZEALAND ALPACA

NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF ALPACA MEAT *Alpaca Meat Analysis

Test Results

Energy—kj/100g Protein (nx6.25)g/100g Fat g/100g Fat—Saturated g/100g Carbohydrates—Total g/100g Carbohydrates—Sugars g/100g Sodium mg/100g

604.0 23.1 5.7 3.1 <0.1 <0.1 45.0

*Other Analysis tests on: Moisture g/100g Ash g/100g

Total Blended 71.9 1.1

*All analysis was tested on Alpaca Backstrap

MESA MEAT COMPANY - COMPARATIVE NUTRITIONAL VALUES Nutrients - 100g

Beef

Pork

Lamb

Chicken

Venison

Salmon

Alpaca

Calories

210

191

156

159

138

150

Protein (mg)

23.1

Fat (g)

7.5

7.7

3.42

3.3

5.75

5.7

Cholesterol (mg)

12.1

9.1

Iron

15%

Vitamin A

6.0 20% 2%

Alpaca Meat is one of the healthiest and most flavoursome meat in the world. It is a mild meat and takes on the flavours of what it is matched with. Alpaca is tender and lean, high in Protein, has the lowest cholesterol of any meat without the fatty after taste. For the best results it should be cooked quickly on a high hear and is best served rare or medium and allowed to rest before serving. 32

Full hides are tanned and used in the home accessory market, with small pieces and seconds used for rugs for settee throws and animal beds, and the left over meat cuts and offal used in specialised pet food. In other words, there is very little wasted. When felted, the fleece can be used for any number of products, from saddle blankets, felted items of clothing to craft goods. The upside of course, is that we have gained a huge amount of knowledge on so many things relating to alpaca and are happy to share that knowledge with others in the alpaca industry. By taking a sustainable view, we have allowed alpaca breeders to continue breeding for quality fleece and bloodlines by culling older, infertile and surplus stock.

On a Personal note This has not been an easy journey, with much time, effort and cost involved in research and obtaining the licences required to produce the meat along with the machinery in the mill, not to mention the criticism from many in the alpaca industry. We are still enthusiastic about alpacas and the future of the industry. One has to admit they are easy, intelligent and for the most part amenable animals to work with. With an Australian alpaca meat producer now eyeing up the New Zealand market, it is time for New Zealanders to get behind the New Zealand alpaca meat product and support the New Zealand efforts as we do for beef and lamb.

We take our hats of to and commend all those breeders who have contributed so much in assisting us to get to our end goal. Sustainability and support as the keys to the success of alpaca as a commercially viable farming industry in New Zealand. We have seen the rise and fall of many new livestock ventures in New Zealand. Some have passed by the way side and some grown into success stories. Alpaca meat may be ahead of its time here but with continued enthusiasm and support by the industry we feel strongly that this is not going to be a fly by night venture.

SUSTAINABLE ALPACA FARMING: SETTING UP YOUR FARM ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM by Julie Wilkinson – B.Ed. M.EnSc Synnot & Wilkinson Environmental Consultants and Baarrooka Alpaca Stud

Introduction

Why Adopt an EMS?

As with all agricultural pursuits, alpaca farming has the potential to impact on the environment in a multitude of ways. How we manage the alpaca industry will determine the extent of such impacts and the sustainability of alpaca farming on agricultural land. There are legal, ethical and financial reasons for ensuring our activities do not cause environmental harm.

The reasons for adopting an EMS vary between enterprises, landholders and communities.

This paper gives an outline of how individual farmers can set up a simple Environmental Plan for their alpaca farm.

Environmental Management Systems What is an EMS? An 'environmental management system' (EMS) is a systematic approach to assist any enterprise to identify and manage its impacts on the environment, while providing opportunities for improved business performance. As an integrated business management tool, an EMS can effectively complement and build on other existing activities such as property management planning, best management practices, codes of practice and quality assurance schemes. EMS provides a management framework based on a simple `plan, do, check, act' cycle that achieves continuous improvement. A manager uses the system to identify environmental impacts and legal responsibilities, then implements and reviews changes and improvements in a structured way 34

These may include the need to: 1. improve business efficiencies; 2. become more sustainable; 3. reduce environmental and financial risks; 4. differentiate products in the marketplace; 5. maintain or improve access to markets and natural resources; 6. maintain the natural resource asset base of the farm enterprise; 7. meet catchment and/or regional strategies; and 8. improve management of natural resources and protect the environment.

• adaptable and allow for continuous improvement; and • consistent with internationally recognised systems (such as ISO 14001) and capable of independent audit (NRMMC 2002).

How to Prepare an EMS The tasks involved in preparing an EMS are: 1. Prepare an Environment Policy 2. Describe the Farm Environment - opportunities and constraints 3. Review Legal Requirements and other Guidelines 4. Identify Environmental Issues, Impacts and Risks 5. Prepare and Implement Environmental Management Plans to address issues 6. Monitor and measure performance 7. Report and review EMS

Guiding principles The following principles have been developed for EMS in Australian agriculture: • voluntary and industry and/ or community led; • link competitiveness and natural resource management; • able to be combined and integrated with existing business management activities wherever possible; • simple, cost effective, userfriendly, able to be phased in at any level with clear benefits to the adopting enterprise;

Figure 2. The EMS approach.

This is shown diagrammatically in Figure 2. These tasks are outlined in more detail below.

The development and implementation of the Environment Policy requires the following commitments: • agreement by the owners/ managers of the farm to abide by the Environment Policy;

Step 1: Environment Policy An Environment Policy outlines the environmental objectives and targets for the farm and should be appropriate to the nature, scale and environmental impacts of the activities undertaken on the farm. In addition, the policy must:

Step 3: Review Legal Requirements

• allocation of time and dollars to implement it; and • active review and reporting is essential.

• acknowledge compliance with legislation as a minimum; • show commitment to continual improvement of the EMS and prevention of pollution; and • address environmental sustainability.

the property (eg. urban encroachment, salinity) and the goals or opportunities you see for the future (eg. wildlife conservation, organic farming, tourism).

Step 2: Describe Farm Environment Briefly describe the farm environment, including natural resources, soil types, climate and farming history. Outline the major issues confronting your use of

Identify the environmental legislation that applies to your farm/area. Be familiar with your responsibilities under State Environmental legislation. Also review how your property fits within Regional Catchment Management or Landcare Regions. Approach government and community groups for assistance and input into your farm EMS.

Step 4: Identify Environmental Issues, Impacts and Risks The activities of the farm or enterprise should be investigated to identify the issues and impacts of each activity. Issues for alpaca farms may include:

Activity

Issue

Impact

Risk

Chemical Use and Storage • Veterinary Chemicals • Pesticide use • Storage facilities

off-label use of chemicals unneccessary use of drenches spills withholding periods

animal health soil contamination drench resistance pesticide residues occupational health and safety

Pasture Management

manure disposal animal rotation stocking rates pasture species access to significant vegetation

water contamination erosion invasion of weed species habitat destruction odour/dust soil compaction

Stock Management • Feed storage • Drinking water • Shelter • Riparian zones • Rotations

contaminated feed access to water courses siting and type of shelter siting of fences and gates animal rotation/set stocking

animal health stream bank erosion soil compaction water contamination habitat destruction

These should be listed and then a risk assessment undertaken to prioritise each issue according to risk (see Table 1 below).

Table 1. Risk Assessment

Priority Rating

Level of Risk

Action Required

High

Extremely Significant Environmental Risk

Procedures and Programs MUST be put in place

Moderate

Significant Environmental Risk

Procedures and Programs SHOULD be put in place

Significant

Some Environmental Risk present

Procedures and Programs should be considered

Low

Very Minor Environmental Risk

Does not warrant Programs

Step 5: Prepare and Implement Environmental Management Plans

for moderate rated issues and for deciding on significant issues.

Prepare an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) initially for those issues identified as high priority. Give a commitment and timeframe for preparing EMPs

An EMP will include: • • • •

Objective Policy Performance Targets Obligations

• • • • • • •

Responsibilities Procedures Reporting Commencement Consultation References Review Date 35

For effective implementation, you should develop the capabilities and support mechanisms necessary to achieve your environmental policy, objectives and targets. These include: • documenting what you do and how you do it; • monitoring the effectiveness of your actions and whether you are meeting your targets; • undertake training where available; • ensuring communication with regional and local authorities, community groups and neighbours is maintained - ask them to read and comment on your EMS; • setting a timetable for meeting targets and reviewing this regularly; and • obtaining feedback from regional and local authorities, community groups, neighbours and other stakeholders on the effectiveness of your EMS.

Step 6: Monitor and Measure Performance Once the system is in place, you should measure, monitor and evaluate your environmental performance. Documented procedures to ensure

that measurements are accurate and recorded should be put in place. When performance targets are not met, corrective actions should be identified and implemented when required. All such actions should be recorded.

Step 7: Report and review EMS An landholder should review and continually improve their EMS, with the objective of improving its overall environmental performance. Landholders should review the Environment Policy, targets, objectives and the EMS effectiveness regularly and in response to external changes such as changes in legislation, land use or market requirements.

References Commonwealth of Australia (1992) National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, December 1992 Merrell, John (2002) Alpacas and Sustainable Agriculture. Gateway Farms Alpacas website

NGO Sustainable Agriculture Treaty 1992 (US) NRMMC (2002) Australia’s National Framework for Environmental Management Systems in Agriculture, Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, October 2002. Queensland Farmers Federation (1998) The Environmental Code of Practice for Agriculture SCARM (Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management) 1998, Sustainable agriculture: assessing Australia's recent performance. A report to SCARM of the national collaborative project on indicators for sustainable agriculture, SCARM Technical Report 70, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. Standards Australia (1996) Australian/ New Zealand Standard Envrionmental management systems - Specification with guidance for use. AS/NZ ISO 14001:1996

FINE FLEECE SPECIALISTS

MEE TING ALL YOUR PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS

Mesa Natural Fibre Mill is able to process from a few kilos through to larger quantities. Washing | Dehairing | Carding (roving, batts, bumps) Spinning (balls, cones, skeins) Felting Quantities of carded or spun Alpaca for sale

Peter & Tessa McKay 18 Tait Road Maraekakaho RD1 Hastings 4171 New Zealand

p. 06 874 9093 e. info@mesamill.co.nz w. www.mesamill.com MESA 6846

NEONATAL HEALTH CARE Late pregnancy Pregnancy length is longer and more variable in length than most other domestic hoofstock. Most crias are born 335 to 355 days after breeding, with an average of 342 days. Suri alpacas are reported to carry a few days longer than the average. Healthy crias can be born over a wider range: 325 to 370 days or more. Individual dams are reported to have relatively consistent pregnancy lengths, but this is not always true. During late pregnancy, the fetus achieves about 80% of its growth. This increases the damâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s requirements for energy, protein, and calcium. The increased requirements can usually be met with high-quality forage and a mineral mix, though dams with poor or declining body condition may benefit from a grain supplement. Late gestation is also a good time to boost colostral protection through vaccination. Relatively few vaccines are used in camelids, with the Clostridium perfringens Types C and D and Tetanus vaccine being most commonly employed. A single dose given approximately 4 weeks prepartum will allow development of an antibody response in time to augment colostrum. Selenium and vitamin D supplementation and deworming of the dam should also be considered.

Birth The cold harsh environment of the Altiplano has given rise to a few features of the birth event. Parturition is usually quick, without many early signs. Most crias are born in the late morning, and almost all are delivered during daylight hours, presumably to allow the cria to become active before the onset of the cold night. Prolonged deliveries or deliveries between 4pm and 8am are usually abnormal, and should serve as warnings of future difficulties. 38

Most camelids deliver standing up. The cria is born covered with a thin epidermal membrane, which may serve to keep their fleece dry and prevent hypothermia. This membrane usually breaks easily, but may cover the nostrils of a weak cria. The dam does not help in disrupting the epidermal membrane: she does not lick her offspring, and at most may nudge it slightly along the back. If the membrane does not rupture spontaneously, the first person on the spot must remove it from the airway. The placenta should detach during birth, but does not always do so. Additionally, umbilical bleeding appears to be a greater problem in camelids than other domestic livestock. Hemostatic clamps or suture may be applied. Omphalocoeles and hernias are also common. If the cria is breathing easily and nasally, this is a good time to check for signs of prematurity and dysmaturity. These include history of a gestation < 325 days, small size, lax legs, floppy ears, a soft or absent haircoat, unerupted incisors, and general obtundation. Newborn llamas in North America should weigh more than 9 kg at birth and newborn alpacas should weigh more than 5.5 kg. Normal birth weights are 20-40% greater than that. The cria may require some protection from the elements. Though they should be adapted to cold, coats and shelters may increase survival. Also, wet conditions may decrease their thermal resistance. Other interventions at this time may include dipping the umbilicus, a selenium shot, and possibly a vitamin D shot or enema. The cria should make its first effort to stand within 15 minutes and succeed within 30 minutes. Gentle assistance may be provided if the cria appears capable but slow. The cria should nurse within 1 hour, and if the cria has not nursed within 4 hours, we usually try to provide colostrum by tube.

A straight forward birth.

Subsequently, crias follow their dams closely, and nurse around twice an hour during the day. Longer intervals (up to 4 hours?) occur during the night. They should pass meconium within 4 hours, which may be sped up with an enema.

Subsequent days Beside monitoring general behavior and well-being, the second day is a good time to check colostral transfer. This should peak between 24 and 48 hours. Acceptable results depend on the assay run and farm conditions. Radioimmunodiffusion and turbidity assays for camelids are commercially available as kits. Radioimmunoassay or protein electrophoresis can also be done at a specialty laboratory. Some insurance companies demand minimum serum IgG concentrations before they will underwrite a policy. Crias suspected of having failure of passive transfer are believed to be more susceptible to infectious disease. If

by Christopher K. Cebra, VMD, MA, MS, DACVIM-LA The Pfefferkorn and Wendorf Professor of Camelid Medicine, Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Corvallis, OR

Newborn camelids, or crias, face the same challenges as other newborn hoofstock, namely having to learn to breathe, stand, and eat within a short period of time. Additionally, their native environment, surrounded by predators and cold, shelterless terrain has led to certain unique adaptations.

Placenta delivery.

Bonding.

First feed, the important colostrum.

failure is suspected or detected early, camelid or ruminant colostrum may be administered. Ruminant colostrum should be from Johneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free herds or flocks, if possible. Bovine colostrum has also been associated with immunemediated hemolysis in rare cases.

crias may lose weight on the first day, they should subsequently gain 125 to 250g/d for alpacas and 250 to 500g/d for llamas. This rate slows after about 6 months, with camelids reaching about 50% of mature body weight at about 9 months of age, 75% before 18 months, and 100% at around 3 years.

into three feedings a day, and allow it to seek its own sources of nutrition in between. We offer supplemental feed by pan to avoid the dangers of imprinting or aspiration that are more common in bottle-fed crias. Maintenance requirements are estimated at 10% of body weight a day. Crias may be fed up to about 25% of body weight a day. Feeding more than that may result in acidosis. In Peru, crias start to eat solid feed about 8 days postpartum.

If colostrum is not available or if failure of passive transfer is detected after the gut is likely to have closed, immunoglobulin may be given in the form of camelid plasma. No adverse effects of giving llama plasma to alpacas have been described, and llamas often make better donors because of their size. Overall, cross-matching is often not necessary and reports of transfusion complications are rare. Plasma may be administered by intraperitoneal or intravenous injection. One unit is often sufficient for an alpaca, whereas a large llama cria with complete failure of passive transfer may require 2 units to reach the higher range. Weight should also be monitored throughout the criaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. Although

If body weight goals are not being met, the cria should be investigated for disease or insufficient milk ingestion. Insufficient ingestion may indicate the need for supplemental feed. Whole goat or cowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s milk may be used, as may milk replacers for those species. Camelid milk is reported to be relatively low in fat and protein, but high in carbohydrate, but it is usually better to mix replacers following label directions rather than try to second guess what more closely approximates normal. Mixing milk replacer incorrectly may adversely affect palatability and digestion. If we have any question whether a cria is drinking enough, we usually tube it with the maintenance requirement split

Although early (<6 months) castration was recommended for many years to avoid Berserk Male Llamas, or pathologic imprinting of llamas on people, experiences have demonstrated this leads to long, straight legs and subsequent orthopedic disorders. Most males are castrated after 18 months (alpacas) or 24 months (llamas). This allows for development of some of the secondary sexual characteristics including thick cervical skin and fully erupted fighting teeth. 39

Rosie was born in Scotland and studied veterinary medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Having moved to New Zealand three years ago, she has enjoyed exploring a particular interest in alpaca medicine. Although not an alpaca owner yet she is working on persuading her better half to remedy that issue…

WORM WORRIES Alpacas

by Dr. Rosie Milne, BVM&S BSc MRCVS

Worms are one of the most common ‘preventative’ problems that we see in alpacas. They live within the gastrointestinal tract and can cause weight loss, poor fibre and blood loss. Interestingly, diarrhoea is rarely seen in connection with high worm burdens in alpacas. For the purposes of this article we will focus on the most common gastrointestinal worms – Nematodes. These include Haemonchus contortus (“barber’s pole” worm), Cooperia and Trichuris. The commonest sign of worm burdens in alpacas is weight loss. However in serious situations blood loss can be severe and cause collapse or even death. Alpacas are by nature quiet animals that can hide signs of illness. As such sometimes the first outwardly apparent sign that an alpaca has a significant worm burden is when the alpaca is too weak to be able to stand and is found ‘down’ in the field. Therefore the best way to check if an alpaca has a worm burden is to look for worm eggs in the faeces. This is known as a ‘faecal egg count’ (FEC) and can usually be done through your local veterinary practice. The presence of worms is inevitable in any alpaca herd but thankfully there are several strategies to control the worms. These fall into two main categories: 40

• Worming drenches (anthelmintics) that kill the worms in the alpaca. • Pasture management to minimise the amount of worms that the alpacas are exposed to.

Worming Drenches No drenches available are licensed in alpacas – meaning that they have never been proven to be safe in alpacas. As such it is always recommended to discuss with your veterinarian before purchasing or using a drench as safety and dosage rates can vary from other species. There are three classes of anthelmintic available that are commonly used – see below. Any commercially available worming product will contain one or more of these classes of drug. Recently new classes of anthelmintic have been identified, but these should be reserved to use as quarantine drenches or in cases of multiple drench resistance. Classes of anthelmintic:

Benzimidazoles • Albendazole • Fenbendazole • Oxfendazole

Imidazothiazoles • Levamisole

Macrocyclic lactones • • • • •

Abamectin Doramectin Eprinomectin Ivermectin Moxidectin

The biggest barrier to effectively using anthelmintics is the issue of resistance developing in the worms. All of the anthelmintics shown above have the potential to be effective against nematodes. It is the presence of resistance in the worms that can lead to them being ineffective. Once resistance has developed to one drug within a class, it applies to all the drugs within that class. This is a serious issue; a 2006 New Zealand study on sheep farms showed that 8% had worms resistant to all three main classes of anthelmintic, and alpacas are susceptible to almost all of the same worms that sheep are! Resistance is an issue which is farm (or lifestyle block!) specific, so it is essential that you know what the situation is on YOUR farm. A good way to check for the presence of resistance is to do a ‘faecal egg count reduction test’. This is best done with the support of your vet, but essentially involves doing a FEC, drenching and then repeating the

FEC 10 to 14 days later to ensure that the drench has been effective. Drenching with a product that contains more than one class of drench will significantly slow the development of resistance. Additionally, the more we use anthelmintics the more likely resistance is to develop, therefore it is important not to use them unnecessarily. Younger animals are the most at risk from worms as they haven’t had time to build natural immunity. A generalised recommendation for alpacas is to drench every 2-3 months. However given every herd is different, this may be too frequently or even not frequently enough for your herd. A good strategy is to do FECs on all of your animals (or for larger herds 10 animals or 10%, whichever is more) every 2-3 months for a full year to gain an idea of the pattern of your animals –which ones tend to have high FEC and which ones tend to have low FEC. Drenching aims to kill all of the worms within an animal, but resistant worms will survive the drench and repopulate the pasture with little competition. Therefore it is recommended not to drench those with lower FECs so that a population of susceptible worms is

preserved. This allows repopulation of pastures with these susceptible worms rather than just the resistant worms. This is a concept known as ‘in refugia’. Once you have an idea of the pattern of your animals you can then target the timing of your FEC more accurately. Your veterinarian can be a very useful resource for developing a parasite control programme.

Pasture Management Thankfully, using worming drenches is not the only way to control worms. In fact, the more alternative strategies you can use, the less anthelmintic you need to use and so the lower the risk of resistance developing. Pasture management options available include: • Poo Picking ›› Removes eggs from pasture so they can’t re-infect alpacas • Pasture Rotation ›› ‘Resting’ pasture in between use to allow lifestyle stages of parasite in pasture to die off. ››

Realistically needs to be at least 6 months in New Zealand conditions

• Low Stocking Density ›› More animals means more pasture contamination with eggs • Cross-Grazing ›› Using different groups / different species to ‘vacuum’ worm eggs up off pasture ››

Adult horses or cattle – only share a small number of the same parasites

››

Not sheep or goats – share too many of same parasites

• Feed Bunkers ›› Raising feed off ground - prevents alpacas grazing near poo

Take Home Message Parasite control is an essential part of basic health care in alpacas. By using FECs, careful choice of drench and pasture management you can protect your alpacas from the potentially lethal effects of worms. Responsibility should also be taken to minimise the development of anthelmintic resistance so that we are able to keep effectively managing internal parasites for decades to come.

Cherry lane alpacas

Because alpacas are our passion We love alpacas, and we enjoy sharing our passion for alpacas with others. We have: -breeding stock -lifestyle pets -alpaca fleece -prize winning alpacas -for sale or to view Give us a call, email us or stop in for tea or coffee today. We would be happy to show you around our farm and introduce you to our alpacas and alpaca farming.

6 Sunnex road, RD2, Rotorua 41

Our featured advertiser is drawn from the pool of advertisers in the previous magazine. If you would like a chance to have your profile featured in the Alpaca magazine, make sure you advertise in the next issue of New Zealand Alpaca.

We have been in business for 13 years now and are based in North Canterbury; our company was built out of a love of cats and dogs and around a philosophy of sustainability and environmental friendliness. We are motivated by a belief that cats and dogs are designed by nature to eat raw meats, time and again our clients tell us their pet not only looks healthier with a much shinier coat but is healthier, happier and more playful on our products. We saw that an opportunity existed to process wild rabbits that were being shot as pests on farms into high quality pet food. From there we branched into taking injured and down dairy cows that would otherwise have just been euthanised and thrown in an offal pit. This then grew into taking virtually any unwanted stock and wild game, this allows us to offer the market the widest selection of raw meats in New Zealand, all of our products are sourced locally and processed in our fully MPI approved factory, we don't add any preservatives, grain, fillers, colouring etc. itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all just 100% natural. We also pride ourselves on selling within New Zealand only, the highest quality products are available right here and not just exported. Many of the dogs we feed have allergies to grain based diets and are referred to us by their vets, the large

ADVERTISER

PROFILE Stu Free Canterbury Pet Foods

range of unique meats we can offer are great for putting a dog on a food it has never had before and then slowly adding back other meats to see how it copes. We now have a staff of 14 and a customer base throughout the country.

It's not exactly a happy topic to discuss and when Frith approached me about writing an article for the magazine about what we do I must admit to being a little hesitant as I didn't want to offend anyone, but I guess for anyone with any animals inevitably there are some that for whatever reason you are unable to keep, whether they be unwanted, injured or just old. We like to think we offer a prompt and professional service, just give us a ring and we can discuss the whole process, find out what you require and work out a plan

that suits. Animals can be delivered to us if you prefer. We generally pay $25 per head, we will get there quickly, and leave nothing behind, no vet bills, no holes to dig, plus the animal is put to good use not just thrown in a hole in the ground and you get a few dollars for your trouble. At this stage we only service the Canterbury area, if you have any questions at all about how things work and the service we can offer please give us a ring.

Canterbury Pet Foods 166 Bradleys Road Ohoka, RD2, Kaiapoi 7692 Phone: 03 312 6502 Email: sales@canterburypetfoods.co.nz www.canterburypetfoods.co.nz

CUESTA

FOR TRUE BLACK ALPACA Breeding For: colour & handle fineness & low SD temperament ♦ Champion Stud Services ♦ Exports ♦ ♦ Full Sales & Support Service ♦ Training for New Owners ♦ ♦ Boutique Weaving Mill ♦ Jenny & Martyn Ellwood-Wade, 306 Jones Road, Hunua www.cuesta.co.nz ♦ cuesta@ellwood.co.nz 09 292 4334 ♦ 021 044 0033

Each issue AANZ profiles a new member, taken from a draw from the ranks of those who have joined the Association since the last magazine. This issue we feature Lisa & Steve Gerrard of Panz Alpacas.

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE Lisa and Steve Gerrard Panz Alpacas

It was on a family holiday to Australia some years ago that we first came across alpaca. I thought they were beautiful with their huge eyes and thick luaxurious fleeces. They struck me as a creature that has real personality. The way they respond to each other and their curiosity about us was quite entrancing. Around this time we started visiting A & P shows and alpaca farm open days to find out more about variety of breeds, range of colours, normal temperament and on-going care. We also mined a fair amount of information on the net. However, we did not buy our own alpaca for about three years while we searched for a suitable lifestyle block. A property eventually turned up and we have been living here for twenty months. The property is 6.5 hectares divided into four large paddocks. After buying our property we set about making it more suitable for alpaca by installing three quarter deer fencing to keep stray dogs out and building holding pens to help us with our alpaca handling. While on a trip to Wellington to visit family we toured The Alpaca Place and 44

learned more about alpaca from Liz and Cheryl. Here we found our huacaya alpaca, a Mum (Panache) and her two daughters Pandora and Panchera, collectively referred to as the “Pans”. They were delivered to us in Rotorua by Brennor transport in February. Before delivery we attended a seminar on alpaca care and handling and since then we have also attended a course on alpaca birthing. We thought we were well prepared for the arrival of our alpaca but soon discovered that it takes hands on experience to fill the gaps in knowledge that you didn’t know you had. The birth of our first cria was a good example of this. Things did not go quite as per the book and so we intervened with gloves and lube. We may have been jumping the gun due to our anxiety, but it all came right in the end. Our second cria followed a week later with Panache giving birth to her third cria, a boy. Pandora is due in December. Being a little short of shelter trees in our smallest paddocks, we decided some form of shelter was needed before the cria were born to keep them dry and out

of the southerly winds. Deciding on a kitset shelter, it became a mad scramble to get it assembled before the arrival of the first cria. Needless to say, Panchera ignored our frantic efforts and went into labour when we only had the roof on. We had to improvise by wrapping weed mat around the walls. This worked brilliantly, giving Mum and her cria shelter from the elements for the first few days. My husband’s job has him travelling overseas through the year so caring for the alpaca has become a real family affair with our daughter and son helping out where needed. Things have been made easier by the fact that the only additional stock we have on the property are a couple of Lowline Angus for the freezer. When we first purchased our alpaca we weren’t sure on what direction we would take but the birth of our first cria has really peaked my interest in alpaca genetics. I am now getting a lot of enjoyment exploring how to grow and improve the characteristics of our small herd.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS OF THE AANZ On behalf of the membership of the Alpaca Association of NZ, National Council and the Editorial team, we would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new members of our association.

Bruce Speers – Napier Antony Rigg – Waikato Keith Stone & Amy Zhang – Auckland Paula Van Wick – Auckland Kate Milford & Justin Strugnell-Combe – Tauranga Anoek Dechering – Puketapu Richard & Wendy Farquhar – Dunedin Cheryl Atkinson – Ashburton Bonnie Rodwell – Queenstown

From breeding males, females and pets, all with great genetics. Some genetics are no longer available elsewhere. Home to Supreme Champion (in fleece and in the ring). FREE mating available to females on offering. Please contact Ruth or Pete, 07 357 5338 or email greenbankalpaca@clear.net.nz

Lisa & Steve Gerrard – Rotorua Carl Mather – Northland Amanda Bethune – South Taranaki Sarah Henderson – Blenheim Mike Oakley – Napier Stuart & Jean Ramsay – Scotland Arisa Sakurai – Japan Ellis Fibre Limited – Dunedin Rebecca & Richard Moir – Rolleston

AAFT

AUSTRALIAN ALPACA FIBRE TESTING

Rebecca Hardy & Justin Harwood – Sefton

Dedicated to the specific needs of Alpaca breeders Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing PO Box 246, Crookwell, NSW 2583, Australia Phone: 61 2 4834 2132 Email: info@aaft.com.au

www.aaft.com.au

STONELEIGH VALENTINO by Dr. Chris Strack

Like most important things in life, Liz makes the “BIG DECISIONS” and I get the opportunity to agree, disagree or moan about it later. The mating that led to Valentino was one such decision.

Like most important things in life, Liz makes the “BIG DECISIONS” and I get the opportunity to agree, disagree or moan about it later. The mating that led to Valentino was one such decision. We have always maintained a policy of attempting to get a few matings to outside stud males, so as to maintain genetic diversity in our herd, and to breed stud males of our own (with different genetics to our existing boys). Valentino’s conception arose following one such decision by Liz. His dam Sierra Royale is one of our top females, however, she excelled herself with Valentino!

Valentino was born on the 14th of February 2010 (Valentines Day), which is the reason we chose the name Valentino. Valentino is the only known alpaca in the world to have won Four National Supreme Championships, 2011, 2013, 2014 & 2015. He has also won every Age Group Championship at the National Show. Including: Junior Male, Intermediate Male, Adult Male, Senior Male (twice), and lastly Mature Male. The exciting part for us is now seeing Valentino’s progeny come through. We are thrilled to see that he is consistently

passing on his superior fleece traits to his progeny. His progeny excelled at the recent National Show. Valentino and his son, Stoneleigh Icon (at seven months of age), were brought forward from the line up of champions, alongside two other alpacas, for the final consideration of the Supreme Champion award.

The Future The challenge of breeding alpacas is to maximize the tremendous potential for genetic gain with our breeding programmes. Alpacas had been domesticated for 3,000 years in pre-Columbian times. We

Valentino winning his first National (2011) as an intermediate male, the judges were Lyn Dickson and Peter Kennedy. 46

Valentino winning the 2013 WAC National as a senior male. The judges were Paul Garland and Angela Pruess.

have examples of mummified alpacas, from 900 year old tombs, with a fleece of 17 micron diameter, and standard deviation of 1! This was not confined to the blanket, and experts say these were not even the best animals of that era. With the arrival of the Conquistadores it is estimated over 90% of the Indian population died due to war and disease. Similarly there was a loss of over 90% of the alpaca population; the rest essentially going ‘feral’ for centuries. We know from examples such as the Pit Island sheep that animal populations can revert back

Valentino winning the 2014 National as a senior male again. The judge was Amanda VandenBosch from the USA. – Photo: Robert Gane.

to their ‘primative’ pre-domesticated state in less than 100 years. There is a lot of work to do yet in the genetic improvement of alpaca fibre, to get it back to where it was a millennium ago. There have been tremendous improvements in alpaca being bred in New Zealand over the last 10-20 years. We like to think that Valentino represents a step in the right direction. The important thing is that from here the New Zealand alpaca industry continues to focus on making further genetic gains in this task. None of us can achieve this alone. It requires industry wide cooperation, involving the AANZ setting

the broad direction, judges focusing on appropriate traits and breeders making the right decisions. We look forward to the next generations of New Zealand bred alpacas taking over over the mantle from Valentino and his peers. The challenge for the future will be to increase the depth of quality of the alpaca herd so we have sufficient numbers of quality animals producing superior fleece for the commercial market.

Valentino winning the 2015 National as a mature male. The judges were Lyn Dickson and Peter Kennedy, they were the same judges who judged him back in 2011. – Photo: Cilla Taylor. 47

SOUTH ISLAND

Colourbration SEPT. 5TH by Lindsay Riddle, co-convenor The South Island region held its Colourbration show on the 5th September 2015. Leading up to show day Kees and myself had quite a few debates on what the weather was going to be on the Saturday and with all the reports coming to us we thought, yep it is going to be a very wet day. On the Thursday a good keen group of guys and gals turned up to put the big Farmland marquee up. Our special thanks go to Farmlands for their on-going support. We had the marquee up inside two hours, what a great team and we even had time to debate the weather again! While the marquee was going up Kylie Martin our judge along with Anne Rogers and her team were busy judging the 69 fleeces.

Friday saw the sun shining, all the fleeces arrived and were displayed in the marquee along with the show ring being put up and all the normal chores done that usually go unseen on the big day. Later Friday afternoon the alpacas started to arrive and were stabled in the Canterbury A & P Cattle pavilion. Our big thanks to Brendon Taylor who was kind enough to stay in the pavilion overnight to keep a watch on all our beloved alpacas. Saturday morning arrived and to our great relief the sun was shining - phew! Kylie arrived and the colour checks were done. Then after a couple of minor hiccups the show was on. 189 alpacas patiently waited their turn to impress the judge. With Mary-Ann and Mark Pruden stewarding (thanks guys!) keeping both the alpacas and exhibitors in order

the judging seemed to move along at a great pace. It was very pleasing for both Kees and myself to see everyone enjoying themselves, having time to have a cup of coffee and a catch up with fellow breeders. Around 4.30 pm the show was over everyone packed up and headed home a good day had by all. It was great to see on the following Monday morning a good team of helpers arrive to take down the marquee in a very strong south west wind. The old story many hands make light work. Thank you to Kylie Martin for her top job on judging, the many sponsors and to all the helpers and exhibitors. A job well done without you all there it wouldn't be a Colourbration show.

SOUTH ISLAND

Colourbration Results Breed Results Judge: Kylie Martin (Australia) Entries: 179 (36 Suri/8 Fancy Huacaya/135 Huacaya)

Black Suri Show Champion Female Black Suri Reserve Champion Female Black Suri Champion Male Black Suri Reserve Champion Male Black Suri Supreme Champion Black Suri

EUPHORIA MISS NEW YORK SHERLIN CHEROKEE BABE THISTLEDOWN DIABLO SHERLIN SANTA KUZCO THISTLEDOWN DIABLO

FELICITY GRANT SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE STEPH, PHILLIPA & MOLLY GARDNER SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE STEPH, PHILLIPA & MOLLY GARDNER

Grey/Roan Suri Show Champion Female Grey/Roan Suri Reserve Champion Female Grey/Roan Suri Supreme Champion Grey/Roan Suri

FELICITY GRANT SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE FELICITY GRANT

EUPHORIA DAMITA SHERLIN LEXUS EUPHORIA DAMITA

Brown Suri Show Champion Female Brown Suri Reserve Champion Female Brown Suri Champion Male Brown Suri Reserve Champion Male Brown Suri Supreme Champion Brown Suri

SHERLIN JESSCO EL DOS CADENA SASHA EL DOS CADENA TITAN SHERLIN MAESTRO SHERLIN JESSCO

SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE RITCHIE & MAREE CHURCHILL RITCHIE & MAREE CHURCHILL SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE

SHERLIN MARINA EL DOS CADENA SELENE SHERLIN DROVER MADDISON PARK BAILEYS SHERLIN MARINA

SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE RITCHIE & MAREE CHURCHILL SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE ANN & MALCOLM DUNCAN SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE

SHERLIN CAMMISS MADDISON PARK TRASOR EL DOS CADENA SNOWBALL JACANA GALLIANO SHERLIN CAMMISS

SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE ANN & MALCOLM DUNCAN RITCHIE & MAREE CHURCHILL ANNA STENHOUSE SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE

Medium/Dark Fawn Suri Show Champion Female Med/Dark Fawn Suri Res Champion Female Med/Dark Fawn Suri Champion Male Med/Dark Fawn Suri Reserve Champion Male Med/Dark Fawn Suri Supreme Champion Med/Dark Fawn Suri

White Suri Show Champion Female White Suri Reserve Champion Female White Suri Champion Male White Suri Reserve Champion Male White Suri Supreme Champion White Suri

Fancy Huacaya Show Best Female Fancy Huacaya Reserve Best Female Fancy Huacaya Best Male Fancy Huacaya Reserve Best Male Fancy Huacaya Premier Fancy Huacaya

NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD MAGNIFICENT NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE COMMANDER NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE MILLIONAIRE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE COMMANDER

SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT

Black Huacaya Show Champion Female Black Huacaya Reserve Champion Female Black Huacaya Champion Male Black Huacaya Reserve Champion Male Black Huacaya Supreme Champion Black Huacaya

NZ BLACK MAGIC CRACKER MALIBU WAINUI HEIGHTS PEPPER WATERS EDGE SMOKE SCREEN ET SILVERSTREAM NEGUS WATERS EDGE SMOKE SCREEN ET

SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT KIT & SHERYL JOHNSON SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT 49

Grey/Roan Huacaya Show Champion Female Grey/Roan Huacaya Reserve Champion Female Grey/Roan Huacaya Champion Male Grey/Roan Huacaya Reserve Champion Male Grey/Roan Huacaya Supreme Champion Grey/Roan Huacaya

SHAMARRA LOLITA ANYA & FRANK WALKINGTON CANCHONES SUMMERHILL GREY DIVA SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHERLIN THE AVENGER SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE YARINGA HURRICANE SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT SHERLIN THE AVENGER SHERYL & LINDSAY RIDDLE

Brown Huacaya Show Champion Female Brown Huacaya Reserve Champion Female Brown Huacaya Champion Male Brown Huacaya Reserve Champion Male Brown Huacaya Supreme Champion Brown Huacaya

HIGH CHAPARRAL MIRANDA SILVERSTREAM NIGRESCENT NZSUMMERHILL MACINTOSH OAK RIDGE ORLANDO NZSUMMERHILL MACINTOSH

GRAHAM & JOCA KEEN KIT & SHERYL JOHNSON SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT MARTIN BENNETT & DEB WALLACE SHIRLEY & DALLAS GRANT

Medium/Dark Fawn Huacaya Show Champion Female Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya Res Champ Female Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya Champion Male Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya Res Champion Male Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya Supreme Champ Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya

HONEYFIELDS FELICITAS BARBARA & DOUG LOMAX SHAMARRA SHANGRI-LA ANYA & FRANK WALKINGTON KOOINDA ARCHER DEBRA TOBIN-ALEXANDER WARATAH FLATS FIRE CRACKER PAUL GARLAND & L SIDES-GARLAND HONEYFIELDS FELICITAS BARBARA & DOUG LOMAX

Light Fawn Huacaya Show Champion Female Light Fawn Huacaya Res Champion Female Light Fawn Huacaya Champion Male Light Fawn Huacaya Reserve Champion Male Light Fawn Huacaya Supreme Champion Light Fawn Huacaya

KOOINDA AMBROSIA OAK RIDGE ADELE STONELEIGH PHOENIX BEMERSYDE ESTATE JASPER KOOINDA AMBROSIA

DEBRA TOBIN-ALEXANDER MARTIN BENNETT & DEB WALLACE CHRIS & LIZ STRACK DIXON & GLENYS MCIVOR DEBRA TOBIN-ALEXANDER

White Huacaya Show Champion Female White Huacaya Reserve Champion Female White Huacaya Champion Male White Huacaya Reserve Champion Male White Huacaya Supreme Champion White Huacaya

SHAMARRA TIANA HONEYFIELDS PALMYRA STONELEIGH ODYSSEUS STONELEIGH CHECKMATE STONELEIGH ODYSSEUS

ANYA & FRANK WALKINGTON BARBARA & DOUG LOMAX CHRIS & LIZ STRACK CHRIS & LIZ STRACK CHRIS & LIZ STRACK

Fleece Results Entries: 17 Suri/1 Fancy Huacaya/64 Huacaya

Black Suri Champion Female Black Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Female Black Suri Fleece Champion Male Black Suri Fleece Supreme Champion Black Suri Fleece

THISTLEDOWN CHINOOK SHERLIN LAUREN THISTLEDOWN COLTRANE THISTLEDOWN COLTRANE

S, P & M GARDNER L & S RIDDLE S, P & M GARDNER S, P & M GARDNER

Grey/Roan Suri Champion Female Suri Grey Fleece Supreme Champion Grey Suri Fleece Sponsored By Sherlin Alpaca Stud

SHERLIN MONIQUE SHERLIN MONIQUE

L & S RIDDLE L & S RIDDLE

Medium/Dark Fawn Suri Champion Female Med/Dark Fawn Suri Fleece Champion Male Med/Dark Fawn Suri Fleece Supreme Champ Med/Dark Fawn Suri Fleece Sponsored By Fairhaven Alpaca Stud 50

FAIRHAVEN JAMILLE SHERLIN TARRIS FAIRHAVEN JAMILLE

A & N GODFREY L & S RIDDLE A & N GODFREY

Light Fawn Suri Champion Female Light Fawn Suri Fleece Res Champion Female Light Fawn Suri Fleece Champion Male Light Fawn Suri Fleece Supreme Champion Light Fawn Suri Fleece

FAIRHAVEN JAZMYN FAIRHAVEN KALLYSTA THISTLEDOWN ORATORIO THISTLEDOWN ORATORIO

A & N GODFREY A & N GODFREY S, P & M GARDNER S, P & M GARDNER

White Suri Champion Female White Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Female White Suri Fleece Supreme Champion White Suri Fleece

SHERLIN KLELAH SHERLIN ADELINE SHERLIN KELAH

L & S RIDDLE L & S RIDDLE L & S RIDDLE

Fancy Huacaya Premier Male Fancy Huacaya Fleece Premier Huacaya Fancy Fleece Sponsored By Kooinda Alpaca Stud

AWATERE FOREBEAR AWATERE FOREBEAR

R & P ANDERSON R & P ANDERSON

Black Huacaya Champion Female Black Huacaya Fleece Supreme Champion Black Huacaya Fleece Sponsored By Sierra Vista Alpaca Stud

BEMERSYDE ESTATE LORDE BEMERSYDE ESTATE LORDE

D & G MCIVOR D & G MCIVOR

Grey Huacaya Champion Female Grey Huacaya Fleece Res Champion Female Grey Huacaya Fleece Champion Male Grey Huacaya Fleece Supreme Champion Grey Huacaya Fleece Sponsored By Angies Creek Alpaca Stud

ANGIES CREEK EVIE SILVERSTREAM MOJITO SHERLIN THE AVENGER ANGIES CREEK EVIE

A MEIER K & S JOHNSON L & S RIDDLE A MEIER

Brown Huacaya Champion Female Brown Huacaya Fleece Res Champion Female Brown Huacaya Fleece Champion Male Brown Huacaya Fleece Supreme Champion Brown Huacaya Fleece Sponsored By Starlight Alpaca Stud

MALMAC IVY ALEXIS BOUNDARY PARK EXPRESSO BEMERSYDE ESTATE FERGUS MALMAC IVY ALEXIS

E & D MACASKILL L & P YOUNG D & G MCIVOR E & D MACASKILL

Medium/Dark Fawn Huacaya Champ Female Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya Fleece Res Champ Female Med/Dk Fawn Huacaya Fleece Champ Male Med/Dark Fawn Huacaya Fleece Res Champ Male Med/Dk Fawn Huacaya Fleece Supreme Champ Med/Dk Fawn Huacaya Fleece Sponsored By Shamarra Alpaca Stud

WAIKARA PARK RENESMAE STYX RIVER DAKOTA HONEYFIELDS ESCOBAR RUSTIC DAWN YAHUDI HONEYFIELDS ESCOBAR

B TAYLOR K & C REITVELD B LOMAX L & P YOUNG B LOMAX

SILVERSTONE ICED KISSES WAIKARA PARK TRILOGY OAK RIDGE MONACO WAIKARA PARK TRILOGY

K & C REITVELD B TAYLOR M BENNETT & D WALLACE B TAYLOR

Light Fawn Huacaya Champion Female Light Fawn Huacaya Fleece Champion Male Light Fawn Huacaya Fleece Res Champ Male Light Fawn Huacaya Fleece Supreme Champ Light Fawn Huacaya Fleece

White Huacaya Champion Female White Huacaya Fleece Res Champion Female White Huacaya Fleece Champion Male White Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Male White Huacaya Fleece Supreme Champion White Huacaya Fleece Sponsored By Silverstream Alpaca Stud

HONEYFIELDS SHERIDAN SILVERSTREAM MIRROR IMAGE SILVERSTREAM LANDAU SILVERSTREAM MAHARAJA HONEYFIELDS SHERIDAN

B LOMAX K & S JOHNSON K & S JOHNSON K & S JOHNSON B LOMAX

- NATIONAL SHOW RESULTS Suri Breed Section Champion Junior Female Suri Reserve Champion Junior Female Suri Champion Junior Male Suri Reserve Champion Junior Male Suri Champion Intermediate Female Suri Reserve Champion Intermediate Female Suri Champion Intermediate Male Suri Reserve Champion Intermediate Male Suri Champion Adult Female Suri Reserve Champion Adult Female Suri Champion Adult Male Suri Reserve Champion Adult Male Suri Champion Senior Female Suri Reserve Champion Senior Female Suri Champion Senior Male Suri Reserve Champion Senior Male Suri Champion Mature Female Suri Champion Mature Male Suri

SURICO KILLARNEY Hermione & Sue Richards TE KOWHAI HIGH CALIBRE Stuart & Ann Weir SURICO RENARD Hermione & Sue Richards THISTLEDOWN OTHELLO Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner SURICO GISELLE Hermione & Sue Richards TE KOWHAI CELEBRATION Stuart & Ann Weir SURICO VIVO Hermione & Sue Richards TE KOWHAI TOUCHDOWN Stuart & Ann Weir SURICO VENUS Hermione & Sue Richards CANCHONES PLUMAGE Frith & Grant Latham SURICO BURTON Hermione & Sue Richards SURICO WALKINGTON Hermione & Sue Richards TE KOWHAI DEFYING GRAVITY Stuart & Ann Weir ARMENTALIS MUSTANG SALLY Cilla Taylor & Des Khan PAQOCHA MAESTRO Caroline & Henrik Falkner TE KOWHAI TOP NOTCH Stuart & Ann Weir HADSTOCK N.Z. SILKEN SANTOLINA Stuart & Ann Weir HADSTOCK N.Z. CRACKA Stuart & Ann Weir

Supreme Champion Suri

SURICO BURTON

Hermione & Sue Richards

Suri Colour Champions Champion White Suri Reserve Champion White Suri Champion Light Fawn Suri Reserve Champion Light Fawn Suri Champion Mid/Dark Fawn Suri Reserve Champion Mid/Dark Fawn Suri Champion Brown Suri Reserve Champion Brown Suri Champion Grey/Roan Suri Reserve Champion Grey/Roan Suri Champion Black Suri Reserve Champion Black Suri

SURICO BURTON SURICO WALKINGTON SURICO BOLERO TE KOWHAI TOUCHDOWN SURICO EVOLUTION PAQOCHA MAESTRO THISTLEDOWN MAIA THISTLEDOWN TENEBROSO MCKENZIE FIELDS FRANKLIN MCKENZIE FIELDS SHERLOCK THISTLEDOWN OTHELLO THISTLEDOWN IDAHO

Hermione & Sue Richards Hermione & Sue Richards Hermione & Sue Richards Stuart & Ann Weir Hermione & Sue Richards Caroline & Henrik Falkner Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner Ros & Andrew Scott Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner

Huacaya Breed Section Champion Junior Female Huacaya Reserve Champion Junior Female Huacaya Champion Junior Male Huacaya Reserve Champion Junior Male Huacaya Champion Intermediate Female Huacaya Reserve Champion Intermediate Female Huacaya Champion Intermediate Male Huacaya Reserve Champion Intermediate Male Huacaya Champion Adult Female Huacaya Reserve Champion Adult Female Huacaya Champion Adult Male Huacaya 52

SILVERSTREAM OPALESCENT STONELEIGH FLORABELLA STONELEIGH ICON SILVER-STONE ICE GILT EDGE ESPRIT ET SHAMARRA XIAN BRENOR NOVAK STONELEIGH CHECKMATE FLEUR DE LYS MAGDALENA SILVERSTREAM MINARET BRENOR IYA

Kit & Sheryl Johnson Chris & Liz Strack Chris & Liz Strack Liz Strack & Sheryl Johnson Sarah & Peter Busby Anya & Frank Walkington Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Chris & Liz Strack Toni & Greg Charteris Kit & Sheryl Johnson Brenda & Ivor Gainsford

Reserve Champion Adult Male Huacaya Champion Senior Female Huacaya Champion Senior Male Huacaya Reserve Champion Senior Male Huacaya Champion Mature Female Huacaya Champion Mature Male Huacaya Reserve Champion Mature Male Huacaya

BRENOR KING WILLIAM SILVERSTREAM LADYSHIP SILVERSTREAM LANDAU STYLIST SIR EDMUND HILLARY SILVERSTREAM DEJA VU STONELEIGH VALENTINO AQUAVIVA CADBURY

Supreme Champion Huacaya

STONELEIGH VALENTINO

Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Kit & Sheryl Johnson Kit & Sheryl Johnson Neil & Trish Watson Kit & Sheryl Johnson Chris & Liz Strack Mark & Mary-Ann Pruden Chris & Liz Strack

Huacaya Colour Champions Champion White Huacaya Reserve Champion White Huacaya Champion Light Fawn Huacaya Reserve Champion Light Fawn Huacaya Champion Mid/Dark Fawn Huacaya Reserve Champion Mid/Dark Fawn Huacaya Champion Brown Huacaya Reserve Champion Brown Huacaya Champion Grey/Roan Huacaya Reserve Champion Grey/Roan Huacaya Champion Black Huacaya Reserve Champion Black Huacaya

STONELEIGH VALENTINO BRENOR IYA SILVER-STONE ICE GILT EDGE PATRIOT SHAMARRA XIAN SILVERSTREAM INFINITY AQUAVIVA CADBURY SILVER-STONE NOVEMBER RAIN MALAKAI WATERLILY SUNSET ET TIMBERTOP IROCK 64G SILVERSTREAM NEGUS SILVERSTREAM NIGHT FEVER

Chris & Liz Strack Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Liz Strack & Sheryl Johnson Sarah & Peter Busby Anya & Frank Walkington Kit & Sheryl Johnson Mark & Mary-Ann Pruden Liz Strack & Sheryl Johnson Toni & Greg Charteris Toni & Greg Charteris Kit & Sheryl Johnson Kit & Sheryl Johnson

Fancy Suri Breed Best Junior Female Suri Fancy

CHIPPERFIELD SOPHIA

Terri & Art Cattell

Suri Fleece Section Champion Junior Female Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Junior Female Suri Fleece Champion Junior Male Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Junior Male Suri Fleece Champion Intermediate Female Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Intermediate Female Suri Fleece Champion Intermediate Male Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Intermediate Male Suri Fleece Champion Adult Female Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Adult Female Suri Fleece Champion Adult Male Suri Fleece Champion Senior Female Suri Fleece Champion Senior Male Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Senior Male Suri Fleece Champion Mature Female Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Mature Female Suri Fleece Champion Mature Male Suri Fleece

SURISILK SILHOUETTE FAIRHAVEN JAZMYN GOTLAND CHECKMATE SONRIC WHITE KNIGHT SURICO CORDELIA NGAHERE MONA LISA FAIRHAVEN JAEGER TE KOWHAI EYE OF THE TIGER GREENBANK VALLERINA SURISUPRE BELLATRIX FAIRHAVEN HOUSTON HADSTOCK N.Z. SILKEN KRYSTAL HADSTOCK N.Z. SILKEN MAVERICK CANCHONES BANDERA ET SHERLIN WISTERIA TE KOWHAI BONA DEALIGHT EP TE KOWHAI SOLAR ECLIPSE EP

Supreme Champion Suri Fleece

FAIRHAVEN JAEGER

Caroline & Henrik Falkner Anne & Neil Godfrey Lars & Heather Olsson Stuart & Ann Weir Anne & Neil Godfrey Paul & Jan Dixon Anne & Neil Godfrey Stuart & Ann Weir Ruth Hutton & Peter Jackson Laurell MacDonald Anne & Neil Godfrey Ruth Hutton & Peter Jackson Murray & Yumiko King Frith & Grant Latham Anne & Neil Godfrey Stuart & Ann Weir Stuart & Ann Weir Anne & Neil Godfrey

Suri Fleece Colour Champions Champion White Suri Fleece Reserve Champion White Suri Fleece Champion Light Fawn Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Light Fawn Suri Fleece Champion Mid Dark Fawn Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Mid Dark Fawn Suri Fleece Champion Brown Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Brown Suri Fleece Champion Grey Suri Fleece Champion Black Suri Fleece Reserve Champion Black Suri Fleece Finest Suri Fleece

FAIRHAVEN JAEGER Anne & Neil Godfrey SURISILK SILHOUETTE Caroline & Henrik Falkner TE KOWHAI EYE OF THE TIGER Stuart & Ann Weir HADSTOCK N.Z. SILKEN MAVERICK Murray & Yumiko King GOTLAND ROYAL FLUSH Lars & Heather Olsson THE HACIENDA ROMEO Jenny Barrett & Peter Hodgson GOTLAND BRAVEHEART Lars & Heather Olsson THISTLEDOWN RAJASTHAN Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner PAQOCHA EOWYN Caroline & Henrik Falkner THISTLEDOWN BEATNIK Stephanie, Phillipa & Molly Gardner CANCHONES LAUREN Frith & Grant Latham TE KOWHAI EYE OF THE TIGER 17.9 (& lowest SD) Stuart & Ann Weir 53

Huacaya Fleece Section Champion Junior Female Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Junior Female Huacaya Fleece Champion Junior Male Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Junior Male Huacaya Fleece Champion Intermediate Female Huacaya Fleece Res Champion Intermediate Female Huacaya Fleece Champion Intermediate Male Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Intermediate Male Huacaya Fleece Champion Adult Female Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Adult Female Huacaya Fleece Champion Adult Male Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Adult Male Huacaya Fleece Champion Senior Female Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Senior Female Huacaya Fleece Champion Senior Male Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Senior Male Huacaya Fleece Champion Mature Female Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Mature Female Huacaya Fleece Champion Mature Male Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Mature Male Huacaya Fleece

STONELEIGH HOPE SHAMARRA XIAN BRENOR NOVAK SILVERSTREAM MEGABUCKS FLEUR DE LYS MAGDALENA GILT EDGE GLORIANA BRENOR POINT BLANC MALAKAI SORCERER SILVERSTREAM KISS & TELL SOFTFOOT TIRARI STYLIST SIR EDMUND HILLARY BRENOR POINT BLANC SILVERSTREAM JAPANJI STONELEIGH FLAMBELLINI STONELEIGH VALENTINO AQUAVIVA CADBURY STONELEIGH FLAMBELLA SILVERSTREAM GRACELANDS HONEYFIELDS SUTHERLAND BENLEIGH SANCHO ET

Chris & Liz Strack Anya & Frank Walkington Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Kit & Sheryl Johnson Toni & Greg Charteris Sarah & Peter Busby Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Sarah & Peter Busby Kit & Sheryl Johnson Toni & Greg Charteris Neil & Trish Watson Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Toni & Greg Charteris Chris & Liz Strack Chris & Liz Strack Mark & Mary-Ann Pruden Chris & Liz Strack Kit & Sheryl Johnson Barbara & Doug Lomax Toni & Greg Charteris

Supreme Champion Huacaya Fleece

BRENOR POINT BLANC

Brenda & Ivor Gainsford

Huacaya Fleece Colour Champions Champion White Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion White Huacaya Fleece Champion Light Fawn Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Light Fawn Huacaya Fleece Champion Mid Dark Fawn Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Mid Dark Fawn Huacaya Fleece Champion Brown Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Brown Huacaya Fleece Champion Grey Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Grey Huacaya Fleece Champion Black Huacaya Fleece Reserve Champion Black Huacaya Fleece Finest Huacaya Fleece

SILVERSTREAM KISS & TELL STONELEIGH HOPE BRENOR POINT BLANC GILT EDGE PATRIOT MALAKAI SORCERER SHAMARRA VENUS ET GILT EDGE POLESTAR SHAMARRA XIAN SHAMARRA CHICAGO SILVERSTREAM NERA SILVERSTREAM NOCTURNE SILVERSTREAM NEGUS KARISMAC ORION 15.7

Kit & Sheryl Johnson Chris & Liz Strack Brenda & Ivor Gainsford Sarah & Peter Busby Sarah & Peter Busby Anya & Frank Walkington Sarah & Peter Busby Anya & Frank Walkington Anya & Frank Walkington Kit & Sheryl Johnson Kit & Sheryl Johnson Kit & Sheryl Johnson Peter & Miriam Dixon

Fancy Fleece Section

Best Junior Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece NZSUMMERHILL SPOTTED CALICO Reserve Best Junior Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE GODDESS Best Junior Male Huacaya Fancy Fleece NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE Best Intermediate Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE (AUS) Res Best Intermediate Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece NZSUMMERHILL MISS PEACHES 'N CREAM Best Intermediate Male Huacaya Fancy Fleece NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE Reserve Best Intermediate Male Huacaya Fancy Fleece SOFTFOOT MUDGEE CB Best Adult Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece SILVERHILL ILARIA Reserve Best Adult Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece STRATH LORIEN LADY MIRAGE Best Adult Male Huacaya Fancy Fleece AMBERSUN SPECK TACULAR Best Senior Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece FINCHDENE FANTASIA Reserve Best Senior Female Huacaya Fancy Fleece SILVERHILL ILARIA

Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Donna & Kerry Tannion Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Shirley & Dallas Grant Donna & Kerry Tannion

Premier Fancy Huacaya Fleece

NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE

Shirley & Dallas Grant

Finest Fancy Huacaya Fleece

SOFTFOOT MUDGEE CB 18.2

Shirley & Dallas Grant

OBITUARY GORDON ‘BRUCE’ JOHNSTONE 21st February 1957 – 19th September 2015

It was with terrible sadness that we learned of Bruce’s death back in September. Bruce was well known to so many of us and his loss will be sorely felt across our industry. Our loss however pales into insignificance when we spend a moment and think of how much his family will miss him. Bruce was married to Wendy for 33 years, and he described it as 33 years of wedded bliss. Bruce spent much of his life breeding top quality livestock, beginning with pigs that he showed successfully as a young man, followed by dairy cattle and bulls. For some years he also worked as a technical advisor for RD1, a job for which his agricultural knowledge gained him huge respect from the Waikato farming community. He was the ‘go-to’ person when there were any complex issues in his farming district. Whatever he did he aimed to do it with excellence. He and Wendy decided to buy alpacas in 2009 and it is then that I first got to know him. Bruce and Wendy had decided to create a herd of brown and black alpacas and came to us to buy most of our coloured females. From these and other carefully selected females they had created their foundation herd of Wainui Heights alpacas. At Bruce’s funeral he was described as a ‘quiet achiever’ and his gumboots, overalls, hat and felted alpaca toy were placed beside his coffin. Those words of being a quiet achiever certainly sums up their first few years of alpaca breeding. Bruce and Wendy attended many shows within the north island and quietly worked their 56

way to the top. I have a clear memory of passing a Supreme Champion ribbon to Bruce at the Morrinsville show, his first Supreme ribbon and the smile on his face seemed to light up the sky. It was pure enjoyment and a genuine thrill. It was what he had been working towards. He also was proud as punch when one of his best alpacas was purchased by a Norwegian buyer. Wainui Heights had hit the International alpaca scene too. At alpaca shows, we often find it hard to have meaningful conversations with friends, we are all busy concentrating upon being in the right place with our alpacas, and so precious time goes by when we spend time together but do not necessarily spend time learning about what makes each other ‘tick’. In recent years however I got to see what else made Bruce ‘tick’. It was his two grandchildren, Jack and Indie. At Rotorua show last year I watched Bruce and Jack sitting together on the wheel arch of his alpaca float just chilling out together being Granddad and Grandson, in the sunshine talking about tractors. Whenever we talked to Bruce or Wendy about the grandchildren their faces beamed with that special kind of love and pride that was a joy to see. His family were at the core of everything Bruce did as a man. In the last couple of years of his life Bruce came to the front and stepped up and took over roles within the AANZ. He revolutionized the North Island Colourbration and led a large team of helpers to create a vibrant, enjoyable show. He also took over the

reigns of President of the Northern Region a role he carried out with great commitment and energy. The AANZ is truly grateful to him for the work he did on behalf of all members. Bruce’s sudden illness was a shock to us all, when he learned he would not survive his illness his family gathered round and cared for him with devotion. Friends within the industry pitched in to help too, for which Bruce and Wendy were grateful. Bruce and Wendy had entered some alpacas and a fleece at the AANZ National show in September. I sent him a photo of his red ribbon draped across his fleece box, which Wendy said brought a smile to his face on his last day. Unbeknown to the judges Bruce’s alpacas were judged and given ribbons in the breed section too, the audience all knew the significance of each of his exhibits being handled by friends, in Bruce’s honour. One young alpaca did not want to walk into the ring but the audience and his handler willed him to cross the arena and join his place in the line-up, just for Bruce. Bruce had hoped to attend the National show, sadly he was unable to do that, but his spirit was with us, and his memory will be with us too. Bruce is survived by his wife Wendy, his three daughters Michelle, Hayley and Leigh and his grandchildren Jack and Indie. by Sarah Busby

Reclass, Processing and Marketing Alpaca, Black and Coloured Wool and Specialty Fibres richard@wooltechnologies.co.nz

WOOL TECHNOLOGIES CASH PAID FOR ALPACA FIBRE

Reclass, Processing and Marketing Alpaca, Black and Coloured Wool and Specialty Fibres richard@wooltechnologies.co.nz

NORTH ISLAND CASH Philippa Wright PAID FOR FIBRE PhilippaALPACA Wright Wool Merchants 8 Coughlan Road, Waipukurau NORTH ISLAND Ph: 06 858Philippa 9434 orWright 027 242 2033 philippa@wrightwool.co.nz Philippa Wright Wool Merchants 8 Coughlan Road, Waipukurau Ph: 06 858 9434 or 027 242 2033 philippa@wrightwool.co.nz

SOUTH ISLAND Lindsay Riddle Sherlin Suri Alpaca Stud Lawford Road, RD5, Christchurch Ph: 03 349 7524 or 0274 331 094 leriddle@xtra.co.nz

TWO ALPACAS FOR SALE Emily (brown) and Alice (black) are Huacaya half-sisters born early 2011. Sadly we no longer have the room to graze them due to change in land usage. We'd like them to go to a new home together.

Offers please to Monique 0275 947 831

• Winners of the World’s First Alpaca Shearing Competition • World Class independent Alpaca shearers setting the standard and leading in every aspect of the Alpaca Shearing Industry • Introducing new technology in handling & safety of your Alpacas • 9 Cut Free style alpaca shearing, including show shearing and show blankets • Mobile shearing specialising in large and small herds • Shed management

Enquiries to: Mike Banks M: 021 256 2839 E: shearpac@hotmail.com