Shelter Professionals

Microchip Study

Background

Universal scanners

Microchips and cancer

Background

At American Humane, Every Day Is Tag Day®, and more and more Americans are learning the importance of providing proper identification for their dogs and cats. American Humane encourages everyone to make sure their pets are wearing ID tags and to take the added measure of security by having their pets microchipped.

Microchips are tiny capsules injected painlessly under an animal’s skin. Each chip contains a unique ID number that can be read by a microchip scanner and matched with owner information in a comprehensive database.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2007 endorsed the use of microchips as a method of identifying the country’s pets and ensuring they can find their way home. While the department advocated the importance of teaching the public about microchipping, it did not mandate a particular frequency of microchip and scanner to be used.

This is good news for animal shelters that operate the 80% of US scanners that can read 125kHz chips -- and only 125kHz chips.

There had been a desire to align America’s chips and scanners with the International Standards Organization’s global standards for microchipping technology. “ISO” 134.2kHz microchips are used throughout Europe, Australia, Asia, and Canada and are supported by the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and the ASPCA.

While some US companies came on board with ISO scanners, there remained the fact that the majority of pets in America had already been microchipped with 125kHz chips. HomeAgain and Avid both introduced scanner technology that enabled each scanner to read the other company’s chips, but issues of incompatibility between 125 and 134.2kHz frequencies remained.

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Universal scanners

Now universal scanners have been introduced that can read the 134.2kHz ISO microchip, 128kHz microchip and 125kHz encrypted or unencrypted microchip. The universal scanners provide safety and peace of mind to millions of pet owners and their animals.

While experts say 98% of animals out there are sporting the 125kHz microchips that most scanners can recognize, the universal scanners guarantee safety for that remaining 2%, ensuring that any pet’s microchip -- no matter the frequency -- will be read.

The new scanners have backward compatibility to read chips by Avid, 24Pet Watch, and others. New chips are being released that will be compatible with the universal scanner, including the Bayer ResQ chip and the AKC Trovan.

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Microchips and cancer

Last fall, an Associated Press reporter published an article referencing studies and research indicating a link between microchips implanted in dogs and cats to cancer in dogs and laboratory animals. The research reportedly reveals microchip implants had caused malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats.

The AVMA cites that the majority of the mice and rats studied were ones used for cancer studies and that the mice and rates were likely to develop cancer, regardless of the injection of microchips. And, according to the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association (WSVMA), the studies reported were conducted in rodents and did not meet a sound scientific approach necessary to begin issuing product safety warnings.

American Humane agrees with the AVMA’s assertion:

“… the risk that your animal will develop cancer due to its microchip is very, very low, and is far outweighed by the improved likelihood that you will get your animal back if it becomes lost.”

For more information about this issue, visit AVMA.

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