AOBA
The Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association (AOBA) began in 1988 and gained non-profit status in 1991. It serves the following purposes: (1) To promote public awareness and membership appreciation of the Alpaca's unique qualities; (2) To educate the membership on the care and breeding of the Alpaca; (3) To promote the growth of the Alpaca industry as a whole; and (4) To foster the establishment of the breed outside of its native land by encouraging husbandry and breeding practices based upon, but not limited to, herd health, overall soundness, and alpaca fiber production and products.
AOBA's elected seven-member Board of Directors and 14 Committees such as: Marketing, Education, Affiliates, Fiber, Government, and Show are volunteers. The AOBA office in Nashville, Tennessee oversees national operations. Since AOBA's formation, with 87 members and a known alpaca census of 392, its membership has grown steadily to over 4,000 members with over 120,000 registered alpacas in North America.
ARI
The Alpaca Registry, Inc., established in 1988, is a non-profit corporation with offices located in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Registry requires DNA typing to register alpacas. It accepts only offspring of registered alpacas that qualify by DNA matching. ARI owns the database that houses genealogy, blood and DNA records and registered owners of North American alpacas. It is governed by a seven-member elected Board of Directors. ARI membership includes all owners of living, registered alpacas. Board members serve staggered terms and are collectively responsible for policies and procedures governing registrations, transfers of ownership, and the screening of unregistered, non-pedigreed alpacas. Click here to visit ARI.
AFCNA
Incorporated in 1998, the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America, Inc. (AFCNA) is an organization of over 1,000 North American alpaca producers. Most are small farmers, who have decided to raise alpacas to enjoy the country lifestyle and satisfaction of raising livestock. AFCNA pools their annual shearing of alpaca fiber and benefits from processing larger volumes of fiber and market products made from alpacas, on a national level. Click here to visit AFCNA.
ARF
The Alpaca Research Trust was established by the ARI Board of Directors in December, 1997 as a Colorado, non-profit corporation for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. In 2003, what is now known as the Alpaca Research Foundation (ARF) became an independent 501c3 non profit organization. Since its inception, ARF has been dedicated to funding medical and scientific research aimed at improving the health and vitality of North American alpacas. Only research that is conducted and evaluated under the peer-review process is funded and 100% of donations to ARF go directly to alpaca research. In addition, ARF works closely with the Morris Animal Foundation, helping to set priorities for research funding and providing monetary support for projects administered through the Llama and Alpaca division of MAF. Click here to visit ARF.
