page_title: Pet tattoo
section_title: Animal Identification
hierarchical_section_title: Pet tattoo / Animal Identification
caption_attribution_description: English: Tattoo on the inside of the right ear of a retired racing greyhound. First two characters - "77" - are year and month of birth (7/07). Third character, partially cut off here, is an 'A', showing that this dog was the first of his litter to be tattooed.
context_page_description: The term Pet Tattoo relates to the act of tattooing directly onto animals, a common practice which is utilised within various different aspects of society. Pet Tattooing refers to the tattooing of animals for either cultural purposes, artistic means, animal identification or simply with personal aesthetic motives. Wim Delvoye is a pig tattoo artist who is originally from Belgium, but relocated to China to avoid the EU's animal rights laws. Wim Delvoye is known for tattooing 'pop culture' symbols directly onto live pigs, which he then exhibits them in galleries or on his Art Farm. This is an unconventional form of pet tattooing, so has therefore provoked debate about the morality of this art form. The most widely accepted utilisation of pet tattooing, however, is for animal identification. This occurs within the agricultural industry, at breeding farms, in scientific laboratories or for the identification of domesticated pets. Anaesthetic or other methods of sedation are commonly administered for this type of procedure, with the aim to provide minimal harm and pain to the animal.
context_section_description: The most common use of animal tattooing is for animal identification purposes. Animal identification is essential in the agricultural industry, due to its aid in identity confirmation, breeding security and theft prevention. Within the realm of livestock production, animal identification aids producers in the documentation of areas such as reproduction, health issues, milk production and medical procedures.
  The method of tattooing identification codes on animals is very complex and specific and is commonly taught very early in agricultural training. There are several different procedures associated with animal identification tattooing; the appropriate procedure is determined through examining the size of the animal, the size of the herd or the various purposes for identification. Animal identification can either be permanent or non-permanent. Examples of non-permanent animal identification are paint and chalk, whereas tattooing and ear tags are examples of permanent identification. For dairy cattle, beef cattle and goats, tattoos are usually done on the ears. Cats and dogs are usually tattooed either on the ear or stomach, whereas horses are commonly tattooed inside of their lips. The cattle tattooing procedure requires numbers or letters made of sharp needles, rubbing alcohol, tattoo ink, gloves and pliers. To ensure hygiene and decrease the risk of spreading infection throughout a herd, all tattoo equipment used must be sanitised after use. A certain amount of restraint is required to keep the animals stable for tattooing, so it is suggested that small animals be held in someone’s arms, and larger animals be placed in a chute or stanchion. Several weeks after the tattoo is executed, the ink will dry and flake, leaving a legible permanent identification.
  For domesticated pets, tattooing is not recommended as the primary identification procedure of choice. This is because tattooing animals requires heavy sedation as well as specific disinfected equipment for every procedure. Furthermore, tattoos on domesticated pets are likely to become superfluous due to hair growth and fading over time. There are also no specific guidelines for the placement of identification tattoos on domesticated animals, so it may be hard to detect the whereabouts or existence of an identification tattoo on these animals. For dogs and cats, the primary recommended form of identification is a collar as it is non-intrusive and has a high success rate of reunification with owners when lost. However, identification tattoos can also be beneficial as they are argued to be more reliable and permanent than a collar or microchip. It is common for veterinarians and breeders to use an electric tattoo machine to tattoo animals, but sometimes manual hand tattooing is utilised instead. When using an electric tattoo machine, veterinarians and breeders typically put animals under anaesthesia prior to the procedure in order to inflict minimal pain. 
  Other examples of animal identification tattooing can be seen within the biomedical industry for experimental subjects in a laboratory, predominantly relating to rats. Animal identification is very important in this field; tattoos are used to ensure that no domesticated companion animals are accidentally in a research lab. Identification tattoos are also commonly used by breeders to maintain accurate documentation of their kennel, or for veterinarians or animal rescue organisations to signify whether or not a rescued animal has been spayed.
caption: Identification tattoo inside a greyhound's ear
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