Thats just sad they would even consider doing that. When I was researching options of protecting Pouncer from getting lost (He refuses to wear a collar and nobody around here even thinks about microchips --- I polled a ton of my kids' friends and family and NONE of them would check for a microchip if they found a wandering pet) and the one option that people kept telling me about was tattooing his ear for ID, and I was appalled. I think tattoos are hideous as a general rule (another thread entirely) and unforgivable on a pet.