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State may soon consider alpacas, llamas livestock
Monday, February 04, 2008
TURTLECREEK TWP., Warren County — With a herd of 370 alpacas and nine people on staff, Heatherbrook Farms near Franklin has basically become a full-time endeavor for Vicky Brooks.
That's one reason Brooks, who owns the business with her husband, David, and another couple, Bob and Sheri Deily, want alpacas to be recognized under Ohio law as livestock.
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsHouse Bill 352, passed on Wednesday, would do that.
"We believe it's definitely an agricultural business — a livestock business," Brooks said of Heatherbrook Farms.
Ohio has more alpacas than any other state, with 18 percent of the U.S. population, said Joe Osborn, president of the Ohio Alpaca Breeders Association. The state has at least 1,000 alpaca farms, mostly in northern Ohio.
Many llama importers live in Ohio, helping to catapult the state into the lead in alpaca ownership in the 1990s, he said.
Prospective alpaca owners can encounter difficulty in financing purchases of the animals through banks, in part because they're not classified as livestock, Osborn said.
"They're just kind of in limbo," Osborn said of alpacas.
The reclassification also would help alpaca owners qualify for more grants and other state assistance for fencing, water and electric systems and manure disposal, he said.
Alpacas recently were classified as livestock in states such as Pennsylvania and Texas, Osborn said.
The reclassification would mean alpacas would be subject to more testing for disease by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and may create an opportunity for the department to help alpaca breeders and owners market their product, department spokeswoman Cindy Brown said.
State legislators have been urged to add an amendment to the bill that would reclassify llamas as well.
Debbie Shellabarger, who has 56 llamas and 37 alpacas at Spittin' Creek Llamas and Alpacas near Xenia, supports the reclassification of llamas.
"What's good for one is good for the other," she said.
She said the reclassification would address the perception that llamas and alpacas are "exotic" animals.
"Exotics are looked upon in a lot of circles as 'fly-by-night' and a hobby," Shellabarger said. "This is not a hobby."
Those wishing to tour Heatherbrook Farms in Warren County may call (937) 743-9997 or (877) 257-2223. The farm's Web site is heatherbrookfarms.com.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.
