Microchips to save Peru's alpacas

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BBC News snip

Peru has launched a campaign to implant microchips in hundreds of pedigree alpacas to try to stop the best animals being smuggled out of the country. Officials say they know alpacas are being sneaked across Peru's borders.

The microchips, inserted into the neck, will allow them to keep tabs on the best animals and safeguard the gene pool of its three million-strong herd.

Alpacas, which are related to camels and produce fine wool, are increasingly popular among US and European breeders.

"We know that alpacas are being moved across the border with Bolivia and then on to Chile," Pilar Tuppia from Peru's National Council of South American Camelids told the Associated Press.

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3733037.stm