PHOENIX — The llamas that became a social media sensation running around a Phoenix-area retirement enclave last month are saying goodbye to the spotlight.
Kahkneeta and Laney made what was likely their final public appearance at a Phoenix racetrack Saturday, said owners Bub Bullis and Karen Freund.
The llama drama that spawned jokes and Twitter hashtags also got the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Freund said.
A USDA official contacted them after the Feb. 26 incident, saying they needed a license to showcase their llamas or allow people to snap photos of them, the couple said. Neither was aware of such a policy. The husband and wife, who are both retired Phoenix police officers, had planned to offer the llamas for therapy and educational purposes.
“If this opens up a can of worms where everybody across the country gets shut down doing this, that’s really unfair,” Freund said. “That’s really a horrible thing to do to people who benefit from them.”
Freund said she is frustrated because the USDA won’t respond to any of her follow-up calls about the matter because everything has to be in writing. So they are giving up for now.
