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Reuniting pets with owners.
The companion animal market has, and continues to hold, vast opportunities for Digital Angel and its partner companies.
Already, our subsidiary Destron Fearing is a leading manufacturer of implantable RFID microchips for use in identifying lost pets around the world. The microchip, which is a passive device (no power source) about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted just underneath the skin between the pet’s shoulders. The pet’s identification number and owner information is then enrolled in a regulated database. If a lost pet appears in a shelter or veterinary office, it can be immediately scanned, identified and then reunited with its owner. Today there are 70,000 scanners in animal shelters and veterinary offices around the U.S., making it possible for more than 7,000 pets to be reunited with their owners each month.
Helping this market expand even more quickly is the United States Department of Agriculture, which has endorsed microchips to identify pets and has even advocated educating the public about microchip technology. Currently in the U.S. market, only 3% - 5% of pets have received microchips. With more than 100 million dogs and cats in the U.S. alone, the potential for market expansion is extensive and virtually inexhaustible.
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