02/08/2020
After months of fighting with 1 neighbor over a ridiculous ordinance, I'm done. We've decided to sell all the females and continue our alpaca journey with just 3 males. The county has been gracious enough to let me keep 3 mothers and babies here until they are weaned. Explanation: We don't count chicks or puppies, so alpaca babies also don't get counted until weaned. This is exactly what I was told. My evil neighbor, who knows nothing about alpacas, told the officer that 6-8 months was way too long and that they should have already been weaned. They are 4 months old.
I understand that my alpaca issues are not as important as roads, sports complexes, and massive housing developments. I was just hoping for a way to create a special exception, variance, or permit that I could apply for and pay a fee. Commissioner Oakley is sympathetic, but not enough to come up with a solution. The Department of Agriculture has not answered me about the use of animal units based on weight: many states use conversions based on a 1000 pound cow.
The farm has been sold. The girls will be kept at LunaSea Alpaca farm in Clermont until they are sold. The females here will follow later this spring. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I'm not giving up completely, but because I am not in the habit of breaking laws, I will comply at this point in time.
