microchips for pets

[migratory birds]

I was informed by the pet transporter I will likely work with that the ONLY microchips that NZIS will accept are "Avid" and "Home Again" brands.

My vet uses "Bayer" (apparently a newer chip on the market) as it can be read by any scanner and NO annual registration/update fees as there are with Avid and Home Again.

She can get Avid or Home Again BUT I do like the idea of not having to put out an extra $30-40 USD/year to keep the chips active (in the event my cats were lost).

What do all of you who've moved your animals know about chipping? Which brands do you esp like? Why?

[nippa&pippa]

Our puppy had micro-chips done for free of charge by our (selwyn) council. We all have to pay $30 a year for a dog licence.

[migratory birds]

Hi Sophia

The annual fee for the chips is different from an annual animal licensing fee. My understanding is that some of the chip companies require an annual fee to be paid to keep your contact information activated. Apparently the number can still be read if scanned and no updated fees were paid but the owner's contact information would no longer be in the system (this according to my vet's receptionist).

So if my cat or cats were lost, and I had decided not to pay the company every year to keep my contact info available, the shelter/vet that found/scanned them would have no way of contacting me.

I like that "ResQ" by Bayer has no annual upkeep fees but am wondering if MAF will accept an animal with a "ResQ" chip when I've been told by the pet transporter that MAF accepts ONLY Avid or Home Again?

[nippa&pippa]

somehow councils is paying for annual fee then on our behalf. Can't see them pay for us have micro-chips for no reasons as it is now requirement to have done in our council areas (apart working dogs) within 3 months you got new puppy/dog.

[migratory birds]

A correction to original message:

"ResQ" manufactured by Bayer is the chip my vet uses

And that's MAF acceptance (not NZIS!! Yikes! Even though it feels this will be as complicated as getting us into the country!)

[dilanium]

you do not have to register the chip in America. You just need the microchip # to give to NZ, which you will get in the package. (and it's only $20/year for Homeagain if you wanted to pay). So you only have to pay for the microchip itself and its insertion and not the american registration.

As a veterinary professional I recommend Homeagain over avid, I've seen too many Avid chips migrate.

[dusk]

Slightly alarmed by your post as we just got our cats micro chipped at the vets and I have no idea what brand they used...so went to the MAF site and looked it up - according to their site:

What type of microchip must my dog have?

Most internationally recognised microchips are acceptable for importation purposes. However, they may not be compatible with the mandatory microchip requirements for all newly registered dogs in New Zealand. Please contact the city or district council for the area in which your dog will live for more information about dog registration and microchip requirements.You can also visit the Department of Internal Affairs website



Does my dog/cat need a microchip?

Yes, your dog/cat must have a microchip inserted prior to starting any of the vaccination and/or testing requirements for importation (except for dogs/cats from Australia).

All dogs newly registered in New Zealand are required to be microchipped.

[BkyMonster]

Hmm. I wasn't told any of this. I've never heard of Avid having an annual registration fee.
http://www.avidmicrochip.com/answer.htm though according to this they have a one time registration fee.
My dogs have both an Avid chip (125khz) and an ISO chip(I forget the brand, D-something, 134khz, the international standard). I was told by the pet shippers that an Avid would be fine for getting the dogs there but that once in NZ the 125khz chip wouldn't be as easily readable as it is a US standard and the rest of the world uses the 134khz standard.

Looks like the ResQ is ISO compliant, so I'm not sure why there would be an issue on the pet shippers behalf? Unless the USDA can't read it at the point of export. THAT is something to consider. I'd hope they wouldn't be so technologically backwards though...

If I were you and getting pets chipped for the first time I would go with the ResQ or similar ISO brand. I think the claims that it can be read by any scanner are erroneous, simply because it is an ISO compliant chip and that probably means 134khz. Look into the Banfield (a partner of Bayer in ResQ production) vs Avid lawsuits for more on this and also why the Avid/125khz chips are more prominent in the USA.
I would go with the ResQ as it will likely be readable in NZ. Less so in the USA (which is where you are coming from I think?)
Bayer is actually donating lots of dual read scanners so that their chips will be readable in the animal as well as the 125khz brands such as Avid. Prior to this most vets/animal shelters in the US had a single read scanner only able to read one frequency.

[migratory birds]

Hi Liz,

Are you saying that if one of the cats were lost in NZ, say 5 yrs from now, and I didn't keep up on the $20.yr annual registration update fees (because we were living in NZ, not the US) that they would still be able to connect us with our animals?

Or were you just saying that, in order to get the cats into NZ thru MAF, I don't need to register with Home Again?

What motivates me to chip now is of course getting the ball rolling to get them to NZ...but as long as they're chipped I would like the benefit of coming back together with them if they were lost (and found).

Maybe I'll contact the manufacturers of Home Again to get it from the horses mouth.

[dilanium]

Are you saying that if one of the cats were lost in NZ, say 5 yrs from now, and I didn't keep up on the $20.yr annual registration update fees (because we were living in NZ, not the US) that they would still be able to connect us with our animals?

Yes, the HomeAgain registry is for USA only, the number of the microchip would be registered in New Zealand separately from HomeAgain's database.

Or were you just saying that, in order to get the cats into NZ thru MAF, I don't need to register with Home Again?

Yes on this on too though!

What motivates me to chip now is of course getting the ball rolling to get them to NZ...but as long as they're chipped I would like the benefit of coming back together with them if they were lost (and found).

If your cat gets lost in the US you will not have the benefit, but if your cat gets lost in NZ you will be fine as they have a separate registry for the numbers. I did pay the money to register my cat with HomeAgain but only because my friend is watching him in a strange area for a few months so I am more afraid that if he gets out he will get lost.