It has always been important for farmers to identify their animals, and methods such as eartagging and tattooing have been used traditionally. Nowadays however the technology exists to implant electronic devices into animals enabling them to be identified and monitored using remote instruments. Used in conjunction with computerized records, the technology has many applications in quality management, disease control and the prevention of fraud. In this paper, the technology is introduced and placed in context. A second paper will describe some of the possible applications of electronic tagging.
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