The alpaca industry is new to the U.S., but it has had the foresight to create a basic condition for maintaining the value of its bloodstock, namely, a breed registry. The alpaca registry is a state of the art and highly sophisticated system to document bloodlines. Each animal is blood-typed prior to registration. Alpaca crias (babies) cannot be registered unless their dam and sire are also registered and their parentage is proven by the blood test. The owner of each registered alpaca receives a certificate that documents its bloodlines and serves as evidence of ownership for the animal.

The value of this registry cannot be overstated. Almost every alpaca in the U.S. is registered. Alpacas without registration papers are difficult to sell. As a result of the registry, bloodlines have been kept pure, and cross breeding with other camelids has been virtually eliminated. Every alpaca breeder’s investment benefits from this bloodstock registry.