The biothermal chips are approximately 10 millimeters in length and are inserted in a bird's breast with a single inoculation. About 3 million dogs and cats each year are currently tagged with a Digital Angel RFID chip.

The company also designs tags for humans, under the name VeraChips, which are used primarily in medical applications and some for security.

McGrath also said the U.S. military has received a proposal for biothermal chips to replace dog tags on soldiers. Along with the chip, if each soldier also had a GPS scanner on his or her belt, a commander would know the location and relative health of every soldier in the field.