HELADAS CAUSAN MORTANDAD DE ALPACAS EN PUNO

PUNO: THOUSANDS OF ALPACAS DEAD DUE TO LOW TEMPERATURES

Alvaro Tassano in http://www.peruthisweek.com/

The government declared a state of emergency in the southern Andes after brutally low temperatures killed tens of thousands of alpacas.

An estimated 171,000 alpacas died in the first few weeks of July due to brutally low temperatures in the southern Andes of Puno.

The government is promising $3 million in relief funds to farmers in the region, who live at or around 15,000 feet above sea level and raise the animals. For these communities, selling lightweight wool is their main source of income.

“171,850 alpacas have being reported dead of which 9,060 are alpacas in adulthood and 162,790 are young individuals. The main cause attributed to their death is the below freezing temperatures,” German Quispe informed, head of the Regional Emergency Center in Puno.

Puno is the region with the largest number of alpacas throughout Peru and according to estimates by the zonal agriculture office there are just over 2.2 million alpacas in 45 districts, many of them located more than 4,000 mamsl.

Alpaca wool is exported largely to China, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Farmers sell a pound of wool for roughly three dollars, but the same amount in the international market for high end manufacturers can reach $ 300 per pound, according to the regional agricultural office.