EQUINE SPECIES WORKING GROUP

Radio Frequency Identification Devices (microchips) for Equines

Introduction

The Equine Species Working Group (ESWG) is operating under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the American Horse Council (AHC) to best represent the interests of the horse industry in connection with the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).

The proper visual identification of horses requires a combination of all available identification methods including coat color, white markings, cowlicks, sex, aging of the teeth, photos (preferably color & digital), brands, scars, lip tattoos, chestnuts or night -eyes and RFID, normally microchips. Genetic testing with DNA provides verification of the horse’s parentage and is the ultimate tool to re-confirm the horse’s identity.

Recommendations

The ESWG has adopted the following recommendations to the USDA and the horse industry regarding the identification of horses:

Whenever appropriate, equine identification systems currently in use should be incorporated into the national equine identification program, especially radio frequency identification devices (RFID), normally microchips. Existing microchips should be incorporated into the NAIS for equines.

This date forward, the ISO/ANSI compatible RFID chip (11784/85, 134.2 kHz) is the recommended standard of electronic equine identification for the purpose of disease control for the uniformity and compatibility necessary to successfully achieve the goals of the USDA National Animal Identification System.

The recommended implantation site for the microchip is the nuchal ligament on the left side, in the middle third of the neck, halfway between the ears and the withers.

Suppliers of RFID readers and scanners should make an immediate effort to provide readers and scanners for distribution to the U.S. animal identification industry to read the ISO 11784/17785 livestock microchips, and read or at least detect all 125 kHz frequency companion animal microchips.

New technologies should be pursued and researched to provide more efficient, cost effective and accurate methods of equine identification, i.e., Biometrics, DNA Testing, etc.

The NAIS Animal Identification Number (AIN) proposed by the USDA is 15 characters of which the first three numbers are the ISO country code for the United States – 840. The most readily compatible identification device to affix this number to a horse is the 11784/11785 microchip which has 15 characters. This is the same chip that is being utilized in most European countries including the United Kingdom. The European Union has mandated that all horses be assigned a Universal or Unique Equine Life Number (UELN) which also has 15 characters of which the first three are the ISO country code and the second three are a three digit breed code. Both are reasons why the ESWG is recommending the ISO 11784/11785 microchip.

Example of UELN

8 4 0 0 2 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

country code breed code random or registration number

Microchips

Microchips use a common low-power radio signal to read an ID number stored in a tiny electronic circuit. Electronic ID based on these radio signals is also referred to as radio frequency identification, or RFID. These low-frequency radio waves can penetrate all solid objects except those made of metal. Therefore, use of electronic ID allows the number to be stored inside the animal, where it is permanent and is not subject to being lost or altered, or becoming worn and unreadable like an external tag.

The technical term for microchips, the tiny electronic device used to store the electronic ID number, is “transponder”. Transponders come in several sizes, the smallest of which is about the size of an uncooked grain of rice. All transponders are easily injected into an animal, similar to the delivery of ordinary vaccines. The device then remains with the animal for life, where it provides the animal's unique ID number any time it is scanned by a compatible electronic ID reading system.

Most reading systems, or scanners, currently in use in the U.S. send a signal using a frequency of 125 or 134.2 kHz, much lower than the frequencies used in AM medium-wave broadcasting. The power of the radio signal sent by the scanner is less than one one-thousandth of a waft (one milliwatt), which is far less than the power transmitted by a child's two-way radio (walkie-talkie). Scanners should be approved by the FCC or by similar organizations in other countries to operate as low-power radio-frequency devices not requiring site licensing.

The transponders or microchips used in horses are passive devices, meaning that the transponder carries no battery and remains inactive most of the time. The transponder's tiny electronic circuit is energized by the low-power radio beam sent by a compatible reading device. The transponder sends the ID number as a radio signal back to the scanner, which then decodes the number and displays it on a small screen similar to that on an electronic calculator. Since the transponder contains no battery there is nothing to wear out.

The transponders are cylindrical, with the smallest measuring 11 mm in length and 2.1 mm in diameter. Inside are only three components. The first is a computer microchip or custom integrated circuit. This microchip contains the unique ID number assigned to the transponder, and all of the electronic circuitry necessary to send the number to the scanner when it receives the scanner radio signal.

(Graphics courtesy of Electronic ID Inc.)

The second component of the transponder is a coil of copper wire wound around a ferrite (iron) core. This functions as a tiny radio antenna to pick up the signal from the scanner, and to send the encoded ID number from the microchip back to the scanner. The third component is a capacitor used for tuning.

Each transponders unique ID number is encoded into it during the manufacturing process. A laser etches this code onto the surface of the microchip prior to transponder assembly and encapsulation in glass. Once the number is encoded it is impossible to alter. Encoding of the number itself uses 35 bits of information which allows 34 billion possible ID numbers.

The outside of the transponder is normally a soda lime glass which has been specially selected for known biocompatibility. During manufacture, this glass is hermetically sealed so it is not possible for any moisture from the host animal's body fluids to reach the electronics inside.

While glass is biochemically inert it is also very smooth, which, in rare instances could allow the transponder to move around in the animal's body once injected. Therefore, small transponders are available with one end sheathed in a polypropylene shell. This coating offers a surface with which fibrous connective tissue begins to bond within 24 hours of the injection. This configuration of the transponder is utilized whenever migration is a concern, especially with subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injections in dogs and cats.

In horses, the standard injection site is the nuchal ligament on the left side of the animal in the middle third of the neck, just below the long hairs of the mane. For these injections, each transponder comes pre-packed inside a needle, and this assembly is packaged in a pre-sterilized plastic envelope. Each needle is discarded after one-time use. This prevents the spread of infection, and insures that the needle is factory sharp so as to cause minimum discomfort to the animal.

Numerous studies have been performed on a wide variety of animal species to demonstrate the safety of the transponder. These studies have shown no adverse reactions to the transponder, either biological or behavioral. Many of these studies have been documented in published papers.

Horses have been routinely identified with electronic or RFID identification technology since the early 1980's. Results reveal that microchips do not migrate in the nuchal ligament; are durable, with a failure rate of less than 0.5%; do not affect reproductive efficiency of stallions and mares; and, if implanted properly, are virtually tamper proof.

To date, microchip vendors estimate that more than 600,000 horses have been successfully implanted with microchips in the U.S. Starting in 1994, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry changed the state Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) regulation to include permanent identification by means of a brand, lip tattoo or electronic ID, of all horses tested for the purpose of disease control. Dr. Max Lea, Louisiana State Veterinarian and a member of the ESWG, has stated that, “Microchips have been an effective and cost efficient method of horse identification in Louisiana with less than a handful of problems from over 200,000 chipped horses.”

International

There are at least twelve countries in Europe, including England, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy, that currently microchip Thoroughbreds and other breeds. This number will certainly increase with the mandate for horses traveling between European countries to have a UELN. Australia and New Zealand have recently adopted microchip identification for Thoroughbreds. Most of the South American countries with Thoroughbred racing have been using microchips for identification purposes for several years.

Controversy

There are ongoing reports in the media concerning the use of microchips in dogs and cats. A smaller microchip with 8, 10 or 12 characters that operates at a radio frequency of 125 kHz has been utilized in horses, as have the 134.2 kHz 11784/11785 microchips. The 125 kHz microchip has been utilized more in pets, and most of the scanners or microchip readers in the U.S. only read 125 kHz frequency microchips. Microchip vendors and veterinarians expanded the use of the “pet chip” to include horses, and for the most part it has worked very well. There have been problems with vendors’ scanner not reading other vendors’ microchips due to patents and licensing fees. The recent introduction of the 11784/11785 microchip technology which has 15 characters and operates at 134.2 kHz has broadened the controversy to some extent, because the 125 kHz scanners cannot read the 132.4 kHz microchips.

The major vendors in the U.S. do have scanners that can read both 125 and 134.2 kHz microchips. These vendors can also produce the 11784/11785 15 character 132.4 kHz microchips, and several are actively distributing in the U.S.

Conclusion

The Equine Species Working Group is recommending to any horse owner or regulatory authority considering the use of microchip that they thoroughly research all aspects of microchips in making their decision. If the decision is made to utilize microchips, the ESWG recommends the use of the 11784/11785 ISO standard microchip for livestock. This microchip will be compatible with the other RFID tag and scanners used in other livestock under the National Animal Identification System, and in concert with microchip technology being utilized internationally, especially in North America and the European Union. Anyone purchasing scanners or microchip readers should consider one that can read both 125 and 134.2 kHz microchips.

As previously stated, microchips are only one aspect of proper horse identification, and should be utilized in conjunction with all other horse identification systems currently in place including lip tattoos and freeze brands.

The methods of identifying livestock for disease control is a maturing area that is likely to continue to develop as new technical changes and more efficient means of identification are introduced. While horse owners should be aware of the evolving technology when considering a decision to use a particular identification method, the ISO 11784/11785 15 character RFID microchip is the best available option and has been endorsed by other species working groups and the NAIS.

RFIP Vendor Web-Sites (in no particular order)

www.destronfearing.com www.digitalangel.com www.electronicidinc.com

www.avid.com www.allflex.com www.crystaltag.com