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USDA Approves Implantable RFID Tag to Track Horses
"If someone wanted to chip their horses, and wanted to participate in NAIS, this would be the kind of microchip they would get," says Jim Morehead, cochair of the Equine Species Working Group. Jointly overseen by the USDA and the horse industry's American Horse Council (AHC), the Equine Species Working Group evaluates the role of the NAIS in the industry.
The NAIS program does not specifically recommend the use of RFID, Morehead says, though it does focus its attention on horses that compete or race, and that travel outside their home state—or even the country. If the NAIS eventually recommends that RFID tags be used to identify horses, he explains, those would be the horses implanted with transponders.
Tracking individual horses with RFID serves several purposes. For the NAIS, the greatest concern involves the ability to identify and contact horse owners in the event of a disease outbreak. But the tags can also be used to identify missing or stolen horses as well.
The Biothermal Sensor LifeChip can help owners monitor the health of their animals. However, says Sue Brown, product manager at Destron Fearing, the sensor is not intended to replace manual temperature checks. "It's a management tool," she states, allowing those who maintain horse health to track fluctuations in an animal's temperature.
A unique feature to the LifeChip, Brown says, is a porous cap covering about half its length, reducing the likelihood of the tag migrating from the neck to another part of the horse's body. Because previous transponders have been smooth, she notes, they have been known to migrate within pets and other animals. The porous material on the LifeChip, on the other hand, is likely to remain fixed where it is injected, because tissue builds around the pores. Animal caretakers can find it difficult to read a tag's ID number if the tag has migrated to a different location, such as a leg.
Destron Fearing provides two handheld readers that can read either type of LifeChip within 2 to 4 inches. The $800 DTR-3E is an industrial-style ruggedized handheld built to withstand harsh environments, Brown says. It captures the ID number of the LifeChip and sends that data via a Wi-Fi connection. It can also plug directly into a PC to download the ID number, which can be forwarded to a Web-enabled back-end system, such as NAIS' equine registry.
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The NAIS program does not specifically recommend the use of RFID, Morehead says, though it does focus its attention on horses that compete or race, and that travel outside their home state—or even the country. If the NAIS eventually recommends that RFID tags be used to identify horses, he explains, those would be the horses implanted with transponders.
Tracking individual horses with RFID serves several purposes. For the NAIS, the greatest concern involves the ability to identify and contact horse owners in the event of a disease outbreak. But the tags can also be used to identify missing or stolen horses as well.
The Biothermal Sensor LifeChip can help owners monitor the health of their animals. However, says Sue Brown, product manager at Destron Fearing, the sensor is not intended to replace manual temperature checks. "It's a management tool," she states, allowing those who maintain horse health to track fluctuations in an animal's temperature.
A unique feature to the LifeChip, Brown says, is a porous cap covering about half its length, reducing the likelihood of the tag migrating from the neck to another part of the horse's body. Because previous transponders have been smooth, she notes, they have been known to migrate within pets and other animals. The porous material on the LifeChip, on the other hand, is likely to remain fixed where it is injected, because tissue builds around the pores. Animal caretakers can find it difficult to read a tag's ID number if the tag has migrated to a different location, such as a leg.
Destron Fearing provides two handheld readers that can read either type of LifeChip within 2 to 4 inches. The $800 DTR-3E is an industrial-style ruggedized handheld built to withstand harsh environments, Brown says. It captures the ID number of the LifeChip and sends that data via a Wi-Fi connection. It can also plug directly into a PC to download the ID number, which can be forwarded to a Web-enabled back-end system, such as NAIS' equine registry.
