Some animals are extremely valuable. For centuries, horse thieves have stolen horses, so now most horses have tattoos in their mouths. Likewise, purebred pets, such as dog show winners, are valuable animals. What if there were a better way to positively identify valuable animals?

Radio frequency identification (or RFID) has been used for many years in airplanes and on toll roads (like EZPass and FaneLane in the United States) as well as in libraries so that books and materials are not taken out of the library without being checked out. With RFID, a lowfrequency radio transmitter, when bombarded with a radio wave, replies with a unique signal. Some animal owners have inserted RFID chips into their pets’ shoulders so that they can be identified. The code is unique and cannot be changed. It would be possible to Track a stolen race horse if the horse came into range of an RFID device. Likewise, a pet shop or a veterinarian could identify a valuable pet.

Questions

1. If you were working for a state consumer-protection agency, what requirements might you place on pet shops to ensure that animals for sale have not been stolen?

2. What technological requirements might be needed in the system proposal?

3. What ethical issues might be involved?

4. If your system project team did not have the correct technical background, what might you do?