Demand for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Pet Microchip High In US with Increasing Adoption of Companion Animals

 

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) pet microchip uses radio waves as a medium to transmit information. With the advent of wearable identification tags, radio frequency identification has found use in various sectors. Today, Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is gaining a large following with the adoption of pet microchips.

The demand for RFID pet microchips is high in the U.S., owing to increasing adoption of companion animals. According to 2017-2018 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook of American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF), 38.4% of household in the U.S. owned dogs compared to 36.5% in 2012. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) pet microchip stores data and, using electromagnetic forces for power, communicates that data to a device that interprets. Once attached, the tag's radio waves are picked up by a computer. The computer then processes the information from the chip and sends it to a device that monitors and reads the tag's information. If the tag is not recognized, the computer will re-process the signal, or send it out to another database that receives and processes RFID tags.

One thing to keep in mind is that although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) pet microchip are relatively new technology, they have actually been around for a few years now. Before this current generation of microchips, pets were tracked via collar, which had a similar technology to that of a chip. However, because of the problems that people had with RFID collars, the chip was eventually replaced with a collar and harness method that was more secure and reliable.

Pet microchips do have one inherent problem though. As mentioned above, they work only with animals that are within range of the transmitter. If your pet is wearing a dog collar and is roaming outside, the chip will simply get blocked by the dog collar, and you will not be able to read the pet's information. Fortunately, this is one of the only problems with RFID pet tags. Most other problems can be easily overcome. For instance, if the pet's tag is attached to a leash or collar, it can be removed without damaging the chip, as long as you do not pull on the leash too strongly.