>Do you have any numbers of how many ferrets have been returned to their
>owners because the ferrets were microchipped,
 
The companies who manufacture and control the microchip numbers do not keep
track of what type of animal (or human ;-) was microchiped.  So I doubt
anyone would have numbers as to the specific species that was returned to
their owners.
 
>and how many ferrets were not returned because the finder of the ferret
>had no idea whatsoever that the ferret was microchipped?
 
This is the question that was a huge concern to me.  So, when I started
microchipping, I contacted all of the animal control agencies in the
Seattle area to notify them that ferrets were being microchipped.  One
microchiped ferret who had been placed into a home (by my shelter) found
his way back to me.  The original adopter never contacted me or the
microchip company to try to locate her ferret.  :-(
 
>To my knowledge only a very few of the animal agencies have a microchip
>reader.
 
All of the animal agencies in the Seattle area have microchip readers that
can read both major brands of microchips (I too have this reader and
routinely use it on stray ferrets.)
 
>It would appear that microchipping is a flop in terms of its efficacy,
>since microchip readers are very few in number and the knowledge of
>microchipping is rare in the lay population.
 
Actually it's extremely effective with 17,000 animals having been documented
by AVID (according to their web site) as having been recovered.  When I
worked for a vet, numerous found dogs were brought to the clinic to be
scanned for a microchip because the people did not want to turn the dog
over to animal control (where he would be killed in 3 days).  Veterinarians
and animal shelters are the primary source of microchipped animals and the
public is being made aware of this form of identification.
 
Sandi
Best Little Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House
Seattle, WA
[Posted in FML issue 2392]