The long, sad decline of the United States’ alpacas

[Recursion]

http://grist.org/food/the-long-sad-decline-of-the-united-states-alpacas/

The fall 2015 cover of Modern Farmer features a svelte model with the hair of Lyle Lovett and the eyes of a seal pup. Her neck is long long, her lashes are full, and skin looks like a fine sweater. She is an alpaca, and according to the cover, her time has come.

Alas, Modern Farmer is a little late to the game on this one. After a surge in alpaca popularity gave breeders hope of cashing in and retiring to the islands, the fuzzy guys are on their way out … and they’re taking some humans down with them.

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At their peak in 2005, females were going for an average of $70,000 at auction, and males for $30,000. Then came the decline. By 2014, the long-necked sheep dogs sold for pennies on their original prices, with females going for $1,000 a head and males as low as $200 — and that’s if they sold at all.

Robert Silver, a 73-year-old breeder in Polk County, Oregon, invested his lifesavings in alpacas, sure that he and his wife would be able to comfortably retire by selling their babies. But, he told the Seattle Times, “we were never able to sell any.” In February 2014, after complaints from neighbors, Polk County deputies investigated the Silvers’ farm and found 16 alpacas dead from starvation. The county seized the Silvers’ farm — including their 175 alpacas — and Robert was subsequently convicted of animal neglect and ordered to serve three years in prison. The Silvers got into the business, Robert told the Times, after his wife saw alpacas at a livestock show and fell in love with them.

My grandfather of blessed memory tried to raise alpacas for a while, before he switched to emus (this was in a previous alpaca bubble in the mid-1990's).

[kaiden]

1. I have friends who raise alpacas.

To make any money off these animals, you have to be a quality knitter who can sell hand-dyed rovings and finished product for more than the cost of the mill that spins the fiber into yarn ($1000s of dollars) and more than the cost of the booth rental (at least $1000 per show) at fiber festivals across the country. I have seven fiber goats (angoras and pygoras that produce mohair), and except for 2012, when I made $1,200 at one holiday boutique sharing a booth with two other fiber artists, let's just say I was really glad I had a job in a law firm.