WASHINGTON— The HSUS and animal care and control organizations
today cautioned pet owners that the nation’s animal shelters
may not have scanning devices that can detect the presence of
certain pet identification microchips currently on the market.
The incompatibility between scanners and microchips mean some
micro-chipped animals entering shelters may not be properly
identified.
“All pets should have some form of identification on them.
Ideally, they should wear a collar and ID tag with current
information that helps to easily facilitate the lost dog or cat
being quickly reunited with his family,” said Martha Armstrong,
HSUS senior vice president for companion animals and equine
protection. “Collars and ID tags can become lost where
microchips offer a permanent and additional means of
identification. But we are concerned that pet owners could have
a false sense of security.”
The warning comes as another company has entered the
microchip market and is selling micro-chips in approximately
440 veterinary clinics housed in one of the nation’s largest
pet product retailers. Yet the company has not provided the
end-users such as many of the nation’s shelters, humane
societies and veterinary hospitals with compatible scanners
needed to detect the chips. As a result, the animal protection
groups recommend that pet owners thinking about getting their
pets micro-chipped contact both the chip manufacturer and their
local shelter to make certain that compatible scanners are
present in their community.
In a letter to microchip manufacturers, the groups applauded
the technology as a valuable tool to increase the probability
that lost pets will be reunited with their owners, but appealed
to them to develop a truly universal scanner capable of
detecting all microchips regardless of brand. In the letter,
The HSUS offered to convene a summit of these manufacturers at
HSUS offices to resolve the incompatibility issue nationally
for the benefit of the animals.
“It is just common sense that all animal shelters be
provided with the sufficient number of scanners needed to read
the chips being implanted in pets,” said Armstrong. “Local
shelter personnel are already hard-pressed to meet the demands
of animal care and control in their communities.”
“Shelters should not have to expend additional resources to
scan animals multiple times with multiple scanners just so the
manufacturers can differentiate their products in the
marketplace,” said Bob Rohde, president of the Dumb
Friends League based in Denver.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s
largest animal protection organization with more than eight
million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream
voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals
and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals
in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The
HSUS protects all animals through legislation, litigation,
investigation, education, advocacy and fieldwork. The
non-profit organization, which is celebrating its 50th
anniversary in 2004, is based in Washington, DC and has 10
regional offices across the country. On the web at
www.hsus.org.
