Camelid Working Group (CWG) and YOU

Following is a letter to Association Presidents that outlines what you can do for the CWG and what they can do for you.

January 6, 2006
To: Camelid Association Presidents
From: Teri Nilson Baird ( teri@brokenwindmill.com)
           Dr. Julie Ann Jarvinen ( jarvinen@iastate.edu)
           Co-chairs, Camelid Working Group

Dear President:

The Camelid Working Group (CWG) continues to keep the llama and alpaca community informed regarding the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) through press releases, the Camelid ID web site and articles in various industry publications. Charged with helping to develop the NAIS for camelids, the CWG is made up of representatives from throughout the llama and alpaca community.

Those attending Camelid Community 2005 last August in Kansas City recommended association funding of the CWG at an affordable level (for example, $25 per group, one-time donation, though larger amounts are certainly appreciated). Four groups already have donated to set the precedent—Llama Association of North America, Missouri Llama Association, Illinois Lama Association and South Central Llama Association. (The entire report from Camelid Community is available on LANA’s web site at www.llamainfo.org)

Current CWG expenses are carried by individuals who attend meetings from their own out-of-pocket costs. The CWG will need to send one representative to a future stakeholders meeting with USDA on the NAIS issue and will also incur expenses from an upcoming opinion survey of the llama and alpaca community, as well as continuing expenses for maintenance of the web site.

The CWG can help provide your association with a NAIS Power Point presentation for meetings or conferences and can also help find speakers on animal ID from within state animal health agencies for your specific region. Information is also available on the Camelid ID web site: www.camelidid.org. Some have already started to avail themselves of these services and found them extremely useful not only in providing the latest updates on animal ID, but also in serving as a starting point for discussion. After attending an animal ID presentation at LANA’s Expo in California last summer, Gary Kaufman of Olympia, Washington, contacted a CWG member for help in providing materials for a panel discussion on animal ID for his local llama association’s annual conference. He was extremely pleased with the information provided by the CWG and with the discussion it generated at his group’s event.

In order to continue to provide the latest information on animal ID to the llama and alpaca community, and to insure that the opinions of camelid owners are taken into account in recommending a camelid ID plan, the CWG is counting on the financial support of groups like yours. Again, if all associations simply contributed at an affordable level, the needs of the CWG would be met.

We thank you for your support and also ask that you contact a CWG member if you have any questions or comments regarding the camelid portion of the NAIS. Checks to help fund the CWG may be made out to Government Relations Fund/Camelid Working Group and mailed to the International Lama Registry, P. O. Box 8, Kalispell, MT 59903.