IDENTIFICATION IN PETS

Until not too many years ago, the identification of pets was something almost ‘superficial’ or limited to a few domestic animals. Nowadays, thanks to various social developments in recent years, pet owners are more and more convinced that individual identification is very important, especially in case of theft or loss of their pet. 

As a general rule, when an animal comes from a family breeder or a recurrent breeder, the animal is identified because the numbering of this identification is associated to a pedigree (without identification there is no pedigree) and to a change of ownership in a regional or private register (depending on the pet). 

The individual identification can give us a lot of information about the animal that has it and this can be internal or external, among the data it can give us are: name of the animal, date of birth, breed, sex and who is its owner (name, address, country...).

Currently, there is no unity in Spain as far as pet identification registers are concerned, so the data registered in Madrid may not be readable in Galicia, and those granted in the Basque Country may not be readable in the Balearic Islands; this means that the most reliable sources of data are the private registers of the breeders' clubs, as they can be consulted via email from all over the world. 

The owner and responsible will always be the one who is reflected in that database, even if the owner ceded the dog to a third party and this was the one who abandoned it to its fate, hence a breeder always insists on making the change of owner and notify the owner if this happens, to keep track of the animal and that the original owner does not have problems because of other people. 

IDENTIFICATION IN DOGS AND CATS

In dogs and cats the mandatory identification is the microchip, although if our pet comes from other countries such as Russia, it is quite common for them to have double identification (tattoo and microchip), but to be able to travel and keep them outside that country they have to have the microchip. 

The chip must always be put in before the animal is handed over, so as a general rule it is put in between 2 and 3 months of age, it does not have to be linked to the rabies vaccination (which is given after 3 months of age). 

All dogs and cats registered in the stud books of the different breeders' associations are identified by origin.

IDENTIFICATION IN SMALL PETS

Small pets are ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice and hamsters.

Ferrets are required by law to be microchipped, but there are no regulations for other animals. 

• RABBITS: Rabbits must be identified by origin (breeder) and three types of individual identification are allowed: anklet ring, microchip and tattoo. At present, tattooing is the most widely used format, although the ankle ring is the most common in the UK.
  
  -THE ANKLE RING: The ring is a type of external identification in the form of a closed aluminium ring with a mixture of letters and numbers, each breed has a different size (which prevents them from getting stuck) and it is placed when the rabbit is between 30 and 40 days old. It is very comfortable as no machine is needed to be able to read it, as well as being safe; there is no way of it getting caught anywhere as the rabbit does not wear it hanging down and neither can it get stuck as it is adjusted to the weight range of its breed, this could only happen if it has a much smaller size (which would not make sense as the cost is the same) or if the animal is very obese.
  
  -MICROCHIP: The microchip is an internal identification format with the same characteristics as that of dogs, cats or ferrets but smaller in size, it must be read with a reader and has the disadvantage that it can migrate through the body and get lost (put in the back of the neck and appear in a paw) or be deactivated by a malfunction and make it appear that the animal is not identified.
  
  -TATTOOING: Tattooing is a slightly invasive technique which must be done with precision, it is done with tweezers with numbers which change according to the year, it must be done well otherwise it can be blurred and become illegible, putting one number on the left ear and the other on the right. This is done when the rabbit is about 2 months old and is the most widespread method in Europe, especially in medium and large breeds.

• GUINEA PIG: At present, the only possible identification for guinea pigs is the microchip and, as with rabbits, they must be identified at origin.

• RATS: Individual identification is not common, but if it is, microchipping is the only possible option for these animals.

• MICE AND HAMMERS: Due to their small size there is no possible way to identify them individually at present, as the smaller microchips (those used in rats, rabbits and guinea pigs) are too large for them and the implantation process would be stressful.

IDENTIFICATION IN BIRDS

In birds, the most widespread individual identification is the anklet ring (very similar to that of rabbits), which can be found in plastic and metal. This is compulsory to know the origin of the animal, especially those that are within CITES, as it shows that they come from legal breeding and are not the result of pet trafficking. 

WHAT DO WE DO IF THE IDENTIFICATION IS DAMAGED?

On some occasions we may find that the individual identification of our pet has been damaged by time or a malfunction, making it totally unidentifiable. What can we do?

• RING: In the case that the anklet ring has been damaged to the point that the numbers and letters are not legible, we will put a microchip in our animal at the vet and we will contact the association or the breeder of that animal, so that they can add this information and the numbering of the chip to the rabbit or bird in question. We will not remove it unless it becomes a danger to the animal (obese animals or animals of incorrect size).

• MICROCHIP: Sometimes the microchip circuits fail and we cannot read it in any part of the body (even if we can feel it under the skin), if this happens we will have to put another microchip and replace it in the regional pet registry, being the owner's responsibility to inform the breeder of this information.
  
  If we find an animal in the street and it is apparently unidentified (we cannot read any chip), it is advisable to take an X-ray of the whole body, in case it has migrated or has been deactivated.

• TATTOOING: If the tattoo has been damaged for any reason (accident, fight...) or has been smudged, we will have to microchip it. 

CONCLUSION

Individual identification of pets is essential, as it is the only way to prove that an animal belongs to us in the event of theft or loss. If, for whatever reason, our pet is not identified at origin (macro-farm or private), it is our duty as responsible owners to do it ourselves at the vet's, registering our details and keeping them up to date (change of residence or telephone number). 

Many animals do not return to their families because they are not identified or cannot be located because they have changed their telephone number.