Learning topic: Recognise animals

Identifying animals

This reading will cover:

  • reasons for identification of animals
  • types of animal identification.

Reasons for animal identification

Proper identification of patients is extremely important to ensure that allanimals are cared for adequately and receive the appropriate treatment. It is also important for avoiding unnecessary confusion between patients of similar appearance. Accurate identification is necessary for verification of ownership.

Additionally, when working with large animals such as horses, cattle, sheep etc, it is important to be able to identify specific animals in what may be a very large group of animals of the same species and/or breed. Individual identification devices allow sound management of:

  • breeding programs
  • disease identification and treatment
  • sale of stock–including quality assurance and disease control/traceability
  • animal assessment and selection
  • ownership of wandering stock.

It is therefore important to be familiar with the various methods of identification for different animals and understand how to accurately record them.

Table: Things to consider

Consider / Example
The method should not change the animal’s behaviour or in any way endanger its life / Problems associated with collars on cats and headstalls on paddocked horses
The method should be as pain-free, both initially and on an ongoing basis, as possible / Consider the pain associated with branding and toe clipping
The method, if designed to be permanent, should last indefinitely / Consider the ease with which council dog tags become lost
The identification should be easily read without needing close contact / Sheep and cattle in a paddock: Can you pick out a particular one without catching it?
The method should be appropriate to the size of the animal to be identified / Compare a mouse and an elephant
The method should be easy to use and inexpensive / Consider the cost associated with microchipping, both to have it done and to have a scanner to read it
The method must comply with any legislative requirements / Companion Animals Act 1998
Rural Lands Protection Act, identification, 1998

Table:Types of Identification

Bands /
  • These can be used as either a temporary or a permanent means of identification.
  • Bands are often used in veterinary clinics to identify animals as a temporary method—the adhesive paper bands are placed around the animal’s neck with the name of the animal and the and owner on them.
  • They work well for a short time but are easily removed by some animals.
  • Bands are also used as permanent identification on birds—metal leg bands and wing bands and also digit bands on frogs.
  • The main disadvantage of these is that they can constrict the limb; also some animals try to get them off and cause damage to themselves. Bands can also be lost.

Tags /
  • These are often used on properties for identifying livestock.
  • They are commonly attached to the ear and there are a variety of shapes, sizes, types and colours. They can also have names or numbers on them.
  • They are readily available, relatively cheap, and relatively easy to use.
  • Some disadvantages are that they can be torn out and lost, there is some pain associated with their insertion, and poor technique can lead to infection. Also, the writing on them sometimes wears off with time.
  • They can also be used as a temporary means of identification, such as tail tags on cattle going to saleyards.

Notches /
  • Notches can be cut into animals for identification—eg ear notches in sheep, cattle and also in mice and rats, and notches in the marginal plates of the shell of chelonians (tortoises and turtles).
  • Notching is simple and inexpensive, but does cause some pain, and can be confused with injuries, leading to mis-identification.

Brands /
  • Brands are a very common method of identifying livestock and horses.
  • Branding can be achieved either with extreme heat (common in livestock) or extreme cold (common in horses).
  • Hot branding is more painful than freeze branding but both cause some degree of pain.
  • Brands, if not properly applied, can be difficult to read.

Tattoos /
  • Tattoos can be used to identify animals, and can be applied inside the ear, inside the lip, and on the thigh or abdomen. They can also be placed on the wattles of birds.
  • They can consist of letters, numbers and/or symbols.
  • There is some pain associated with the process.
  • The main disadvantage is that the animal must be examined closely before the tattoo can be read.

Collars /
  • Collars are a common means of identifying dogs and cats, with or without tags giving a name and address.
  • Collars are easily lost and potentially dangerous, particularly on cats, which can get hung up in trees. There are special collars for cats, with elastic in them, to eliminate this problem.
  • Collars with telemetric devices are often used for tracking wildlife.

Digit clipping /
  • This method is used in research to identify rats and mice, reptiles and amphibia.
  • This process involves one or more digits removed, creating a sequence of numbers to identify the individual.
  • Digit clipping is a painful method, which can lead to infection, and can also become confused with natural injury.
  • Amphibia can spontaneously regenerate the digits.
  • It is not a recommended method.

Transponders/microchips /
  • The use of implanted transponders, or microchips, is the newest and most exciting method of identification yet available.
  • They can be placed in most animals larger than a mouse.
  • They are relatively permanent, although they occasionally stop responding to the scanner, and can move.
  • The main disadvantage is that you have to be close to the animal to scan it.
  • Transponders require placement by a registered microchip implanter.
  • They require a special piece of equipment (which is quite expensive) to read, so it cannot be read by the neighbour wanting to return a stray dog.

Identification of hospitalised animals

Correct animal identification ensures the appropriate procedures or treatments are administered and that embarrassing and potentially hazardous mistakes are avoided!

The method of identification should:

  • be easy to use
  • allow easy identification even if there are multiple animals of the same colour, sex, breed (eg three black cats)
  • be transportable with the animal so it goes with the animal when it changes cages
  • removable when the animal goes home
  • inexpensive.

Table: Methods of identification

Temporary methods /
  • paper collars
  • cage labels
  • details on whiteboards that correspond to cage numbers
  • collars and tags
  • photograph record

Permanent methods /
  • tattoo number
  • microchip (generally not practical for quick identification of hospitalised animals)

Here is an example of a coloured paper collar used to identify dogs and cats in a veterinary clinic

On admission, the animal’s details (name, owner, body weight and reason it is in) are written onto the appropriately coloured collar. For example:

  • blue collars could mean a medical procedure
  • red collars for animals undergoing surgery
  • white collars for boarding animals.

This is an example of a whiteboard, which is used to identify animals in cages. The cages are numbered to coincide with the numbering on the board.

Information on a whiteboard may include:

  • animal’s name and description
  • owner’s name
  • the problem
  • treatment or procedure.

Here are two examples of cage labels attached to a cage.

Many veterinary clinics can now generate the computer printed cage labels.This allows treatments and observations to be written onto the sheet which can be transferred to computer records later.

Cage labels can include extra warning information for staff, such as:

  • bites
  • do not feed
  • collect urine
  • special diet.

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© NSW DET 2007