Abstract
Simple SummaryThe implantation of a microchip can maximise an animal’s chance of being returned to its owners, if separated, but is also a statutory requirement for companion animal owners in many jurisdictions across Australia. This study of the electronic patient records of 1000 randomly selected dogs and cats in the VetCompass Australia database revealed that the median age at microchip implantation was 74.4 days for individual dogs and 127.0 days for individual cats. Further exploration into the reasons for later microchipping in cats may be useful in aligning common practice with legislative requirements.In Australia, compulsory microchipping legislation requires that animals are microchipped before sale or prior to 3 months in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and by 6 months in Western Australia and Tasmania. Describing the implementation of microchipping in animals allows the data guardians to identify individual animals presenting to differing veterinary practices over their lifetimes, and to evaluate compliance with legislation. VetCompass Australia (VCA) collates electronic patient records from primary care veterinary practices into a database for epidemiological studies. VCA is the largest companion animal clinical data repository of its kind in Australia, and is therefore the ideal resource to analyse microchip data as a permanent unique identifier of an animal. The current study examined the free-text ‘examination record’ field in the electronic patient records of 1000 randomly selected dogs and cats in the VCA database. This field may allow identification of the date of microchip implantation, enabling comparison with other date fields in the database, such as date of birth. The study revealed that the median age at implantation for dogs presented as individual patients, rather than among litters, was 74.4 days, significantly lower than for cats (127.0 days, p = 0.003). Further exploration into reasons for later microchipping in cats may be useful in aligning common practice with legislative requirements.
Highlights
Microchipping of companion animals is an important part of the role of Australian veterinarians.A microchip is a small radio-frequency identification device (RFID) enclosed in an inert capsule and implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of an animal to provide permanent electronic identification of the animal
1,631,322 VetCompass Australia electronic patient records associated with a veterinary consultation in the year 2017 and a 15 digit number recorded in the ‘microchip’ field
This study aimed to identify microchipping events within electronic patient records (EPRs) of the VetCompass Australia (VCA) database, and investigate when microchip implantation was occurring relative to legislative requirements
Summary
Microchipping of companion animals is an important part of the role of Australian veterinarians.A microchip is a small radio-frequency identification device (RFID) enclosed in an inert capsule and implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of an animal (usually a dog, cat or horse) to provide permanent electronic identification of the animal. Through the use of specialised databases, the number read from the microchip can be linked to owner details and to animal health records, such as vaccination and neuter status. The current annual number of dogs admitted to Australian municipal council pounds, animal welfare organization shelters and animal rescue groups has been estimated to be in excess of 200,000 [3]. While this number includes canine surrenders, the high reclamation rate in that study (48%) suggests that at least half of these dogs were not intentionally separated from their owners. One study showed nearly 7000 cats admitted over a year to the Royal
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