# Animal identification

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{{Short description|Process done to identify and track animals}}
[[File:A calf with eartag and transponder in Agentina.jpg|thumb|[Calf](/source/Calf_(animal)) identified with [ear tag](/source/ear_tag) and [transponder](/source/transponder)]]
'''Animal identification''' using external [marks](/source/Mark_(sign)) or internal identifiers is a process done to identify and track specific [animal](/source/animal)s. It is done for a variety of reasons including verification of ownership, [biosecurity](/source/biosecurity) control, and tracking for research or agricultural purposes.

==History==

Individual identification of animals by means of body markings has been practiced for over 3,800 years, as stated in [Code of Hammurabi](/source/Code_of_Hammurabi).<ref>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 11548516
| year = 2001
| last1 = Blancou
| first1 = J
| title = A history of the traceability of animals and animal products
| journal = Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics)
| volume = 20
| issue = 2
| pages = 413–25
}}</ref> The first official identification systems are documented as far as the 18th century. In [Uruguay](/source/Uruguay) for instance maintained at that time a register of [hot brands](/source/livestock_branding).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allflex-group.com/front-offices/anglais/119-the_history_of_livestock_identification.aspx?idparentnode=120|title=Allflex Corporate Web Site - the history of livestock identification|access-date=2012-01-07|archive-date=2014-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085853/http://www.allflex-group.com/front-offices/anglais/119-the_history_of_livestock_identification.aspx?idparentnode=120}}</ref> 

==Noninvasive methods==
===Wildlife photo-identification===
{{excerpt|Wildlife photo-identification}}
===Biometrics===
{{excerpt|Biometrics|Animal biometrics}}

==Birds==
[[File:Spheniscus_humboldti_(54905367747).jpg|thumb|[Humboldt penguin](/source/Humboldt_penguin) with a wing tag at [Copenhagen Zoo](/source/Copenhagen_Zoo), Denmark]]
* [Leg rings](/source/Bird_ringing)
* [Wing tags](/source/Bird_ringing)
* [Microchip implants](/source/Microchip_implant_(animal)) (parrots)
* [Telemetry](/source/Telemetry) (falconry birds)

==Domesticated mammals==
===Sheep===
* [Freeze branding](/source/Freeze_branding)
* [Branding](/source/Livestock_branding) (hot-iron)
* Collar
* [Earmarking](/source/Earmark_(agriculture))
* [Ear tag](/source/Ear_tag)s (non-electronic)
* Ear tags (electronic)
* Semi-permanent paint

===Pigs===
* [Collars](/source/Collar_(animal)) (electronic and non-electronic)
* Earmarking
* [Ear tag](/source/Ear_tag)s (non-electronic)
* Ear tags (electronic)
* Semi-permanent paint
* [Tattoo](/source/Tattoo) (see [animal tattoo](/source/animal_tattoo))

===Horses===
* [Collars](/source/Collar_(animal)) (non-electronic)
* [Branding](/source/Livestock_branding) (hot-iron)
* [Branding](/source/Freeze_branding) (freeze)
* [Microchip implants](/source/Microchip_implant_(animal))
*Lip tattoo

===Cattle===
[[File:Bos taurus by Christian Ursilva.jpg|thumb|Tagged [limousin](/source/Limousin_cattle)]]
* Anklets
* [Branding](/source/Freeze_branding) (freeze)
* [Branding](/source/Livestock_branding) (hot-iron)
* [Collars](/source/Collar_(animal)) (electronic and non-electronic)
* Earmarking
* [Ear tag](/source/Ear_tag)s (non-electronic)
* Ear tags (electronic)
* Rumen bolus (electronic)
* [Cowbell](/source/Cowbell)
* Photo-identification of noses<ref name="white-sm"/>

===Dogs===
* Collar
* [Microchip implants](/source/Microchip_implant_(animal))
* Tattoo

===Laboratory rodents===
* Earmarking (notching or punching)
* Ear tags (nickel, copper or scannable 2D barcode tags)
* [Microchip implants](/source/Microchip_implant_(animal))
* Hair dye
* Toe clipping{{#tag:ref|'Toe clipping' in mice involves the full or partial amputation of one or more digits as a means of permanent identification.|group="note"}}
* Manual tattoos (tail, foot pad or ears)
* Automated tail tattoos<ref name=labstamp>{{cite web|url=http://actstraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/1115-2011-August-Labstamp-Power-Point-for-demos.pdf |author=Bell, J. |title=Labstamp system. |access-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226141008/http://actstraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/1115-2011-August-Labstamp-Power-Point-for-demos.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2015 }}</ref>

==Wild mammals==
===Bats===
* Photo-identification of wing membranes<ref name="seh-bats">{{Cite journal |last=Seheult |first= Shane D I, Joshua R M Cherney, Paul A Faure |date=2025-09-15 |title= Semi-automated identification of individual big brown bats via collagen–elastin patterns in the wing membrane Open Access  |url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jmammal/gyaf048/8254357?login=false |access-date=September 30, 2025 |website=J of Mammalogy |doi= 10.1093/jmammal/gyaf048 |url-access=subscription |pmc=12527007 }}</ref>

===Koalas===
* Photo-identification of noses<ref name="koa-id">{{Cite web |title=Identifying Koalas by their noses |url=https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/learn-about-koalas/koala-id-presentation/ |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Koala Clancy Foundation |language=en-AU}}</ref>

===Giraffes===
* Photo-identification<ref name="girspo">{{Cite web |title=Wildbook for Giraffe |url=https://giraffespotter.org/?null |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Wildbook for Giraffe}}</ref>

===Zebras===
* Photo-identification of stripes<ref name="white-sm">{{Cite web |last=White |first=Anna |title=The High-Tech, Humane Ways Biologists Can Identify Individual Animals |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/high-tech-humane-ways-biologists-identify-animals-180971632/ |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

===Marine mammals===
* Transponders
* Adhesive tags
* Fin photographs<ref name="noaa-photo">{{Cite web |last=Fisheries |first=NOAA |date=June 26, 2024 |title=Marine Mammal Photo-Identification Research in the Southeast |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/endangered-species-conservation/marine-mammal-photo-identification-research-southeast |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=NOAA |language=en}}</ref><ref name="whofis">{{Cite web |title=A beginner's guide to photo ID |url=https://www.whalesoficeland.is/post/a-beginners-guide-to-photo-id |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=www.whalesoficeland.is}}</ref>
* Fluke photographs<ref name="hawh">{{Cite web |title=Happywhale |url=https://happywhale.com/about |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=happywhale.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="nature-happy">{{Cite journal |last1=Cheeseman |first1=Ted |last2=Southerland |first2=Ken |last3=Acebes |first3=Jo Marie |last4=Audley |first4=Katherina |last5=Barlow |first5=Jay |last6=Bejder |first6=Lars |last7=Birdsall |first7=Caitlin |last8=Bradford |first8=Amanda L. |last9=Byington |first9=Josie K. |last10=Calambokidis |first10=John |last11=Cartwright |first11=Rachel |last12=Cedarleaf |first12=Jen |last13=Chavez |first13=Andrea Jacqueline García |last14=Currie |first14=Jens J. |last15=De Weerdt |first15=Joëlle |date=June 23, 2023 |title=A collaborative and near-comprehensive North Pacific humpback whale photo-ID dataset |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=10237 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-36928-1 |pmid=37353581 |pmc=10290149 |bibcode=2023NatSR..1310237C |issn=2045-2322}}</ref><ref name="cbc-whitten">{{Cite news |last=Whitten |first=Elizabeth |date=2024-08-06 |title='Facebook for whales' is helping this researcher catalogue whale populations across the globe |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-happywhale-research-1.7285519 |access-date=September 30, 2025 |work=CBC}}</ref>

==Fish==
* Microchip implants
* Fin clipping
* [Coded wire tag](/source/Coded_wire_tag)
* [Passive integrated transponder](/source/Radio-frequency_identification)
* [Acoustic tag](/source/Acoustic_tag)
*Visible implant elastomer (VIE)

==Sharks==
* Photo-identification<ref name="whash-id">{{Cite web |title=Whale Shark Photo ID Library |url=https://whaleshark.org.au/whale-shark-id/ |access-date=2025-09-30 |website=E C O C E A N |language=en}}</ref>

== Amphibians ==
*Microchip implants
* Toe clippings
*[Passive integrated transponder](/source/Radio-frequency_identification)
* Visible implant elastomer (VIE)<ref name="fou">{{cite journal |last1=Fouilloux |first1=Chloe |last2=Garcia-Costoya |first2=Guillermo |last3=Rojas |first3=Bibiana |title=Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) Success in Early Larval Stages of a Tropical Amphibian Species |journal=PeerJ |year=2020 |volume=8 |article-number=e9630 |doi=10.7717/peerj.9630 |pmid=32864207 |pmc=7425637 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* Photo-identification<ref name="fou"/>

==Invertebrates==
* Adhesive tags
* Semi-permanent paint
* Photo-identification<ref name=labstamp/>

==National animal identification schemes==
* [British Cattle Movement Service](/source/British_Cattle_Movement_Service) in Britain
* [National Animal Identification and Tracing](/source/National_Animal_Identification_and_Tracing) in New Zealand
* [National Animal Identification System](/source/National_Animal_Identification_System) in the United States
* [National Livestock Identification System](/source/National_Livestock_Identification_System) in Australia

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Wing tag Great Frigatebird.JPG|[Great frigatebird](/source/Great_frigatebird) with a wing tag
File:Kaka parrot foot.jpg|Bird ring
File:Notched ear sheep.jpg|Sheep with an earmark
File:Penn state university pigs.jpg|Pig with earmark
File:Branded Shackleford Pony.jpg|Horse with a brand
File:Santa Gertrudis.jpg|Santa Gertudis cattle with electronic and non-electronic ear tags
File:A calf with eartag and transponder in Agentina.jpg|Calf with a non-electronic ear tag, numbered collar and transponder (blue device)
File:Bear with identification.jpg|Bear with an ear tag and transponder
File:Greyhound right ear tattoo.jpg|Tattoo inside a Greyhound's ear
File:DogTags license fxwb.jpg|Dog collar with dog license and other dog tags
File:134 2khz rfid animal tag.jpg|A microchip implant and applicator
File:Lab mouse mg 3308.jpg|A laboratory mouse with an ear tag
File:Tagging for future reference - geograph.org.uk - 1220926.jpg|Fish with a transponder
File:Halichoerus grypus Telemetry.jpg|Harbour seal with a transponder
File:Sealwithhattag.jpg|Common seal with an adhesive tag
File:Apis mellifera scutellata 1355021.jpg|European queen honey bee marked with a paint spot surrounded by Africanised honeybees 
File:Ewe with lamb - geograph.org.uk - 1119783.jpg|Sheep with painted number
File:Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus Tagged Closeup 3008px.jpg|Monarch butterfly tagged with a sticker
File:Tagging mussels (7008974195).jpg|Mussels being tagged
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Animal identification}}

Category:Animal identification
Category:Ethology

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Animal identification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_identification) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_identification?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.