Moses.. An Auction Cria by Wes Laraway

Hello, my name is Moses and I am an auction cria. My story is unique, but I am a "normal" llama. I felt compelled to tell my story because it needs to be told. My life began about three years ago. I was born on a large farm, far away from where I live now. It was warm there and the first few days with my mother was great. I spent my days frolicking with the other crias. I was bonding with my mother and to my herd. Although I don't have great conformation, fashionable, heavy wool, and will probably not be a grand champion, I would be great for packing, pulling a cart, or even to protect sheep. I was a typical, male cria, but I had everything going for me.

My life changed three years ago, when I was only one week old. One day a strange truck and trailer pulled into my farmyard. A stranger was talking to my humans about who was going to be shipped to the auction. My mother was nervous, but she assured me that I was safe because I was not old enough to be taken away from her. My entire herd was put into a pen. The older females who couldn't make milk, and all of the male crias, regardless of how old we were, were separated and loaded onto a huge trailer. On the trailer I met llamas from farms all over the country. I was put into a section of the trailer with all of the guys my age. The youngest cria was only three days old! We were scared, hungry, and missed our mommies terribly.

Most of us made it our destination alive. When we arrived there we were given bottles to regain our strength. I remember that I was really hungry. There were lots of humans around, but no mommy llamas. It didn't take us long to figure out that the humans might have food for us, so we begged from everyone and were super friendly. We knew that the cria pen was a big hit because we heard lots of humans, who didn't know much about llamas, talking. One lady said, "Those babies sure are cute! My grandchildren would love giving them a bottle." Another man said, We will bid on him and he can ride home on the seat with the kids."

After the very long ride, then two days in an auction pen, many of the older llamas started to complain. Many only had bedding to eat and hadn't had any water in a really long time. Things for us crias were not that bad. There were lots of new friends to meet and we really started to bond to our "new moms" and their bottles. Just as we started to get used to our new home, hundreds of humans started to show up one day. A man with a really loud voice started to talk very fast, and before I knew it I was on stage in front of everyone. A hundred bucks later, I was in the back of a van with two little kids. I was alone and scared, so I was on my best behavior.

My life changed that day, three years ago. I had my very own family, and they took very good care of me. My children playmates brushed me all the time and I had lots of warm bottles to eat. We spent hours playing with each other in the yard. I trusted my family and I wanted to spend all of my time with them. I had an old pony to keep me company, but I really preferred to be with my family.

Now I am lonely. I haven't seen my family in a week now. They haven't come to see me since I ran and jumped on little Billy. We used to play like that all the time, but this time Billy sure was surprised! He didn't even see me coming. Then I knocked him to the ground. After I caught him, he didn't move for a long time. At first I was laughing and frolicking, but then I got confused. Billy's parents came out of the house and yelled at me! They even threw rocks at me. I just didn't understand why everyone was so angry with me.

Now I am getting very sleepy.... why is this human in a white coat giving me a shot?.. I just had all my shots a while ago.. I am so sleepy.... can't keep my eyes open.... Is that crying I hear?.. .Why is my family crying?.. I think I will go to sleep now.. .Maybe I will dream about my mommy and how happy I once was.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a fiction story, but is also a reality! There are dozens of first-class auctions in the United States where the sale of crias would not be promoted or allowed. I even wrote a letter to a llama publication expressing my desire to see more auctions in the northeast. I've attended fine auctions where any cria less than six months of age is sold with its mother.

This story is dedicated to a one-week-old male llama that I met recently at a livestock auction. He was the only llama being sold with over 400 animals being auctioned that evening. Although I don't know who bought him, I wish them all well.

As an industry we all need to put pressure on anyone who purposely takes a cria away from its mother to sell to the unwary public with a bottle. People need to be educated to know that the best place for a cria is with its mother. I realize that there are instances where a cria must be bottle-fed, and that not every bottle-fed llama will grow up to be "too friendly". However, I have to ask, "Would you want your children playing in the yard with a three-year-old intact, male llama who was bottle fed?

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