From: Theresa-GSD Stolz-Scenecrest Farm ?will not understand why Germany suddenly decided to change to a microchip.? I actually wasn?t joking when I said that it was because of the pain that tattooing causes the animals. Think ARISTAS and PETA and you will have the driving force behind the changes. I don?t know if it is still pending or not, but a while ago, there was an attempt to stop dogs from herding sheep in New Zealand because it was upsetting to the sheep and caused them emotional pain. Again, think ARISTAS and PETA. They start small and soon enough there are major changes in the way the world thinks of animals. I personally feel that having a microchip shoved in my shoulder would hurt a heck of a lot more than having a tattoo but since I have neither, I cannot judge the amount of pain that each causes the animal. I do know that having lost one purebred dogs years ago with no way to prove ownership if recovered, that I truly thank whoever thought to tattoo and/or microchip animals so that they can be tracked. Mary-Anne ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2011. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================