ILRe-port April 2005 Welcome

2005 ILR Election Deadline

REMINDER: your election ballot is due in the accountant's office by Saturday, April 30, 2005. All ballots received by that time will be counted in the next election to elect two new ILR board members. YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT! Take advantage of this opportunity to have a say in the running of your registry.

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Events Calendar

Check it out on the ILR web site www.lamaregistry.com/events.php, and add your event! It is only as good as member input. If you don't like to enter an event through the web site, just give us a call and provide your information to an operator. They will gladly put it up for you. Call 406-755-3438 Mon. - Fri. 8am to 4pm MST. Or fax your event information to 406-755-3439.

It is with great pleasure that the ILR Board of Directors announces its plan to develop a new web site for the promotion of llamas. With the exciting possibility of reaching people world-wide to tell them about our wonderful animals, we hope to generate excitement and enthusiasm for llamas of all shapes, sizes and colors.

In the next few months the ILR plans to launch this new web site. With the help of the ILR members, we hope to provide the world with a fresh view of llamas and their wonderful talents.

It is our concept to design a web site with many pages of pictures and dialog about what llamas are and what they can do. At this time we plan to divide the pages into categories showing photos of what our animals can do.

If you have pictures that you feel capture the essence of llamas in any of the following categories, we would like to use them.

Any ideas or pictures should be sent to ILR office at ilr@lamaregistry.com or P.O. Box 8, Kalispell, MT 59903. Director Kathi McKinney is coordinating this effort and can be contacted with any questions at the addresses below.

Kathi McKinney
71 Shafer Meadows Lane North
Montesano, WA 98563
360-249-5627
bobkat@techline.com

Send as many photos as you wish but please send good, clear photos, either digital or printed. Photos will be returned upon request.

Thanks for your participation. Let’s see what we can put together for a great website to promote our llamas.

LANA Announces Hand in Hand Winners
from the Llama Association of North America
1800 S. Obenchain Road, Eagle Point, OR 97524

A Wisconsin veterinarian and two from California are the latest recipients of camelid reference packages from the Llama Association of North America (LANA) through the organization’s innovative Hand in Hand Program.

This year’s winners include Dr. Edward Metcalf, Hayward, WI, nominated by Chris and John Elbert, Springbrook, WI; Dr. Thomas Nickerson, Weaverville, CA, nominated by Laurel Edwards, Lewiston, CA; and Dr. Patty deWet, San Bernardino, CA, nominated by both Carol Edwards, Redlands, CA, and Christina Dunlap, Fullerton, CA.

The goal of the Hand in Hand Program is to provide at least two practicing veterinarians a year with camelid reference packages that include a variety of materials from which to select so that recipients can tailor packages to suit the varying needs of their practices. Veterinarians are nominated by LANA members, and those not chosen this year remain a part of the pool from which next year’s selections are made.

LANA launched the Hand in Hand Program to help practicing veterinarians become more familiar with llamas and alpacas and their needs by providing them with camelid reference materials. This year’s recipients will be able to select a copy of Medicine and Surgery of South American Camelids by Murray E. Fowler, DVM, or Camelid Health Conference for Owners and Breeders, a set of the proceedings from both the 2003 and 2004 sessions held at Ohio State University. They will also be able to select a copy of one of the following titles: Veterinary Llama & Alpaca Field Manual by C. Norman Evans, DVM; Forage and Feed Management for Llamas, Forage and Feed Management for Alpacas by Daniel Linden; or Llama and Alpaca Neonatal Care by Bradford B. Smith, DVM; Karen I. Timm, DVM; and Patrick O. Long, DVM.

In addition, one of last year’s Hand in Hand Program recipients, Kulshan Veterinary Hospital, Lynden, Washington, joined with LANA in presenting a copy of Dr. Fowler’s book to a deserving vet student at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. Stacey R. Byers, who wrote a paper titled “Congenital Heart Disease in an Alpaca Cria: A Case Report”, received the LANA award at the college’s annual scholarship and awards program.

As a LANA member you can be a vital part of the Hand in Hand Program by nominating a deserving veterinarian in your own area. To find out more about this and other LANA programs, contact LANA’s business office at 541-830-5262 or llamainfo@aol.com. You can also access more information about the program on LANA’s web site at www.llamainfo.org.

This is an extremely condensed history of the closure of the US/Canadian border to camelid movement due to the finding of BSE in Canada in 2003.

On May 20, 2003, Canada confirmed the finding of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an Alberta steer. Upon release of this news, the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) announced the closure of the US/Canada border to movement of live ruminants, defined by USDA as any animal that ‘chews the cud.’ Camelids therefore were also included in this ban along with cattle, sheep, goats, bison and cervids. Ruminant products were likewise banned. Until this time, trade in beef and cattle between Canada and the US had been a very integrated market. The adverse effect the closure had on Canadian cattle ranchers was swift and sharp. Canadians were reliant on US processing plants to handle their cattle and prices for Canadian cattle declined heavily despite continued support for Canadian beef by Canadian consumers. To date, BSE in Canada has cost the Canadian economy at least $7 billion.

On December 23, 2003, the US diagnosed its first BSE animal – a dairy cow – in Washington state. This animal was quickly traced back to a Canadian herd but at the time of slaughter it was owned by a US farm, hence it is counted as one case of BSE in the US. This finding resulted in foreign markets in turn closing their borders to US cattle and beef. The main foreign trading partners for US beef are Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, S. Korea and Hong Kong. Canada likewise suspended trade in live cattle with the US but in a significant move, Canada did NOT restrict movement of camelids from the US. Therefore, US llamas and alpacas can still move north into Canada, but at present they cannot return.

In early 2004, USDA reopened the comment period on a proposed final rule to place Canada into a “Minimal-Risk” category that would allow resumption of movement for cattle under 30 months of age. Many camelid owners from both sides of the border, the Canadian government, the Camelid Alliance and the US Animal Health Association responded with the request that camelids be exempted from movement restrictions. USDA announced in late December 2004 that the final minimal-risk rule would be adopted and implemented on March 7, 2005. In their decision, the USDA appropriately ruled that camelids and cervids are not part of the epidemiology of BSE in Canada and that movement of both species should resume.

During the nearly 2 years that the border closure has been an issue within the North American animal health community, a protectionist cow-calf producer organization, R-CALF (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) has been at the forefront, working to keep the border closed even as other cattle groups such as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the major meat packers were calling for the border to be opened. R-CALF threatened to sue USDA if the minimal-risk rule was implemented and on Jan. 31, 2005, they filed suit in the 9th District Court in Montana seeking an injunction to block the minimal-risk rule.

The minimal-risk rule has the full support of both President Bush and his new Agriculture Secretary, Mike Johanns. Sec. Johanns has declared that full resumption of international trade in cattle and beef is his primary focus. Resumption of trade with Japan is seen by the Administration as key to opening the rest of the foreign markets to US beef so intense pressure is being brought upon the Japanese to get their Food Safety Commission to agree to allowing import of beef from animals under 20 months of age (the youngest age at which BSE has been diagnosed). As of the writing of this article, the Japanese are wavering slightly toward reducing their strict standards determining the age of cattle and on 100% testing of all slaughtered bovines for BSE, but no timeline for resumption of trade has been set. In 2003, Japan accounted for about $1.7 billion in US trade in beef.

On March 2, 2005, Judge Richard Cebull (9th District Court) temporarily enjoined implementation of the minimal-risk rule, as R-CALF requested. Arguments made before the judge centered wholly on the bovine section of the rule and no mention was made of the other species involved.

USDA filed an appeal to the temporary injunction with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California on March 17th. Also on March 17th, Judge Cebull set a date of July 27, 2005, for a further hearing in the R-CALF suit. On March 22nd, the National Meat Association was joined by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and Alberta Beef Producers in requesting intervener status and NMA filed an initial brief with the Court. USDA and R-CALF had until March 29th to file responses, then the Court of Appeals would determine whether or not to grant a hearing.

Until such time as this issue is resolved in the courts, USDA advised the ILR that movement for all the affected species will remain at a standstill. The ILR will receive continuing updates from USDA on the situation as it evolves.

ILR Director and Past-President Sally Rucker has been invited to speak at the 2005 Conference of the Rocky Mountain Llama and Alpaca Association, which will be held at Sunlight Mountain Resort in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on July 15 – 17, 2005.

Sally’s presentation at the Conference will give RMLA members and other conference attendees a unique opportunity to learn more about the Registry. New llama owners can learn about the history and purpose of the Registry, and both new and established owners will hear the latest information about services provided by the Registry and how those services can enhance their records and business.

Sally will be one of more than 20 speakers at the Conference, which is being planned to provide sessions of interest to all llama and alpaca owners, regardless of their experience or age. A few of the topics to be covered are camelid health, showing techniques, packing and cart driving, youth judging, poisonous plants and legal issues relevant to lama owners. Several hands-on fiber sessions are being planned, including judging, dying, felting, carding and spinning.

Among the other special guest speakers are Murray Fowler, DVM, and Andy Tillman. Dr. Fowler established the first university course in the United States dedicated to the study and care of non-domestic animals. He is the author of 93 articles on camelids and of the textbook Medicine and Surgery of South American Camelids. Dr. Fowler has received many awards in recognition of his work and is one of the most sought-after experts in the world. Mr. Tillman has been raising llamas and alpacas since 1975 and was named as one the ten most influential people in the llama business by Llamas Magazine. He has taught numerous clinics, published many articles and is the author of the book Speechless Brothers. Mr. Tillman will do a slide presentation of photographs of all types of lamas taken over nearly 30 years and will also conduct hands-on walking fiber analysis sessions.

More information about the Conference can be obtained at www.rmla.com or by calling Cheryl Juntilla at (970) 640-8028.

My name is Jennifer Sargent and I am a preveterinary student at Oregon State University . I am working with Michelle Kutzler, Assistant Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine , on a West Nile virus infection in camelids. We are collecting 5-20 blood samples per farm from alpacas and llamas across America to determine the incidence of asymptomatic West Nile virus infection.

Although we have received a fair number of samples (about 220 samples from 13 states), we haven't received any from the states of VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, WV, VA, NC, MI, OH, IL, IN, KY, TN, MS, AL, LA, AR, MO,MN, ND, NE, KS, OK, NM, WY, AZ, UT, ID, or NV and we would like these states to be represented in our results.

Animals used for this study must not have been vaccinated against West Nile virus and must not have a history of illness. We will pay for the shipping and testing of the blood samples. However, our grant will not cover the cost for collecting the samples. Any personal information related to these samples will be strictly confidential and the results will be shared with owners as soon as they are available. There is mounting evidence that asymptomatic natural infection will provide life-long immunity against West Nile virus disease in the animal. If your animals test positive, you can be virtually certain that they will never become sick from West Nile infection in the future.

If you would like more information on this project, I would be glad to send you a copy of the abstract we presented to the Centers for Disease Control 6th Annual Conference on West Nile Virus on February 8, 2005 or answer your questions directly. Dr. Kutzler has also published two articles on West Nile virus infection and vaccination in camelids and copies of these could also be sent to you.

On February 26th the ILR removed just over 800 email addresses that we have determined to be no good. We have had email messages bounced back from these addresses with the information that there is no such address in existence any more. If your email address mysteriously disappeared, and you are no longer receiving notices from the ILR, please either send us an email with a request to restore your address, call the registry, or go to the ILR database (http://www.lamaregistry.com/rsearch.php) , log in and use the 'Change Contact Information' link to add your email address again. If we have deleted your address in error please accept our sincerest apologies.

We encourage you to support the following advertisers. They make this information possible.

	The Brownderosa Curt & Dr. Kristy Brown 7369 Kate Ave. Sparta, WI 54656 608-269-3292 brownderosa@yahoo.com www.brownderosa.com		Glenmor Forest Llamas Glen Pfefferkorn Morris Wendorf Dallas, OR 97338 503-831-0850 glenmor@open.org www.glenmor.com
	Hartman 24th Annual Spring Sale Fred and Lou Hartman PO Box 488 Kearney, NE 68848 308-237-4440 308-233-2345 cell 308-237-4441 fax hartman@lamaregistry.com www.lamaregistry.com/ads /hartman_springsale.html		Hinterland Llamas Kay and Eric Sharpnack PO Box 1839 Sisters, OR 97759 541-549-1215 541-549-5262 fax hinterlandllamas@highstream.net http://www.hinterlandllamas.com
	Little Doc's Veterinary Care Dr. Karen Baum 1484 Wandering Acres Rd. Huddleston, VA 24104 540-297-1051 fax: 540-297-8345 lildoc@mindspring.com www.little-doc.com		Llama Futurity Show and Auction Llama Futurity Assoc. www.thelfa.org
	Llama Things Carolyn Myers Rt. 1 Box 62 Lakeview, TX 79239 806-867-3423 800-552-6213 carolynmyers@arn.net www.llamathings.com		Mountain Oaks Ranch Norma Stevens Richard Thibert 29560 Valley Center Rd. Valley Center, CA 800-692-4636 www.whyllama.com
	Pearson Pond Ranch Jack and Tracy Pearson 242 Charles Lane, #6017 Ellijay, GA 30540 706-276-3658 pprllama@direcway.com www.pearsonpond.com		Rocky Mountain Llamas Bobra Goldsmith 7202 N 45th St Longmont, CO 80503 303-530-5575 questions@rockymtllamas.com www.rockymtllamas.com
	Steven's Llama Tique and Suri Alpacas Loren and Judy Stevens 29581 US Hwy 59 Worthington, MN 56187 507-376-4230 Fax: 507-376-4242 llamatiq@rconnect.com www.stevenstique.com		Tillman Llamas and Suri Alpacas Andy and Dr. Cheryl Tillman 20510 Swalley Road Bend, OR 97701 541-389-1064 andy@tillmansranch.com cheryl@tillmansranch.com www.tillmansranch.com
	Traditional Lama Coalition % Heather or Kay 541-592-3612 eastfork@cavenet.com		Wilkins Livestock Insurers, Inc. Mike & Janet Wilkins, Stacy Wilkins 1405 Rd 12 Geneva, NE 68361 402-759-4901 fax: 402-759-4903 stacywilkins@galaxycable.net www.wilkinslivestock.com