Advantages & Disadvantages in Microchipping

The use of microchips have become popular for use in pets to be able to find and identify them in the event they get lost. Microchips are tiny electronic devices that are placed within cylinders of glass. Each one is programmed with its own unique identification code and put into a database. Access to these codes are given to animal shelters and veterinarians to assist in identifying lost animals so they can be returned to their rightful owners. There are advantages and disadvantages to these devices.

  1. Reuniting With Loved Ones

    • Because of the overpopulation of dogs and cats, many times animal shelters become overcrowded with these animals and they end up having to euthanize them. One of the advantages microchips have is that they can actually prevent many of these euthanizations because the owner of the dog or cat is more likely to be found and the animal returned them. The database for pets with a microchip is nationwide, which makes it much easier to be reunited with your pet even if they have traveled a long distance from their home.

    Inexpensive &Simple

    • Originally, microchips were extremely expensive. Newer designs are dramatically cheaper than the originals. Additionally, the microchips are easily implanted just under the skin of a pet's ear. These devices are made mostly from silicon and in size they are no bigger than a grain of rice.

    Cancer &Tumor Risk

    • There have been some reports of animals with microchips having developed tumors and cancer. According to Keith Johnson, a toxicological pathologist from the Dow Chemical Company, the transponders in the microchips are the cause of these tumors and cancers to develop. Additionally, according to the veterinary and toxicology journals, studies that were conducted between 1996 and 2006 revealed that laboratory rats and mice which were injected with microchips sometimes developed malignant tumors with most of these growths encasing themselves around the microchip implants.

    Multiple &Incompatible products

    • Because there are many companies that produce and market microchips for pets, not all of them are compatible. In the case that a microchip is read by an incompatible scanner, the animal can run the risk of either misidentification or not be identified at all. When this occurs, there is a strong chance the animal will not be returned to their home, but euthanized instead.