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Board Liaison
Dick Walker (dickwalker@windwireless.net)
Suri Alpaca Breed Standard Draft/Working Document
Click here for Word
Document
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JOIN the
Suri Breed Standard Council
The Breed Standards Committee meeting at the Estes Park
Suri Symposium was a resounding success. This was the Suri Network’s
first meeting on Suri Breed Standards. Attending were nearly 100
breeders, veterinarians, judges and several AOBA board members.
There were two one and one half hour sessions both moderated by SN
President, Dick Walker.
The conference opened with spirited discussions on the
purpose of having a Suri Breed Standard, the role of the SN in
establishing a standard, and the value that a breed standard will
bring to the Suri industry. Dr David Ames, professor and Department
Head of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University, addressed the
conference regarding the importance of developing a standard. Dr
Ames stated that development of a standard would put the Suri alpaca
industry on the fast track to even greater success than we have now.
The SN Breed Standards Committee established the
following Purpose and Goals. Purpose: To develop a document that delineates specific Suri
characteristics and traits with regards to Phenotype, Conformation,
and Fleece. Goals:
1) Utilize a broad based, breeder derived, consensus
building process incorporating input from all interested stake
holders. The first step of this process was taken at our Summer
Symposium held in Estes Park.
2) Be as inclusive as possible of a wide variety of
suri characteristics while still developing a standard that will
provide a solid platform for the future enhancement of the North
American Suri.
3) Provide criteria that owners can utilize to add
value to their suris as well as enhancing the value of their fleece.
4) Incorporate scientific data, when available,
regarding health, fiber production, genetics, heritability, etc.
Also to provide a foundation for the future scientific investigation
of fiber characteristics, fiber production, reproduction, and other
animal husbandry issues.
5) Eventually to provide education, training, selection
tools necessary for herd improvement.
6) Provide a basis for judge’s training and thereby
facilitate more objective consistent evaluation of Suri alpacas and
their fleece by AOBA judges.
7) Recognizing that breed standards are dynamic and
should be subject to periodic review, an orderly mechanism for
future review and amendment must be established.
At the Summer Symposium we addressed the following major components
of a Suri Breed Standard.
1) The Phenotype of the
Suri Alpaca
2) The Suri Head
3) The Suri Body
4) The Suri Legs and
Movement
5) The Suri External
Genitalia
6) The Suri Fiber
A paragraph describing each component was written with
group consensus. Related positive and negative traits were discussed
and listed. Implications for show ring assessments were discussed.
This is a work in progress. The SN Breed Standards
Committee will be reviewing the input from this conference,
soliciting further input from member and non-member Suri breeders as
well as from other stake holders. A draft version of the Suri Breed
Standard will eventually be made available to all members and other
interested parties for review and comment.
As the SN forges ahead in this process it is gratifying
to know that we have the support of the AOBA board. According to
Steve Hull and Anthony Stachowski who were both present at our
conference, AOBA is looking to their affiliates to take the lead on
this issue. We are and will continue to be in the lead. Representing
over one-half of all Suri breeders who own in excess of 70% of all
suris we feel strongly that we are doing the right thing for our
membership as well as the industry as a whole.
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