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See also: Tattoo and Animal identification

The term Pet Tattoo relates to the act of tattooing directly onto animals, a common practice which is utilised within various different aspects of society. Pet Tattooing refers to the tattooing of animals for either cultural purposes, artistic means, animal identification or simply with personal aesthetic motives. Wim Delvoye is a well-known artist who tattoos directly onto live pigs and exhibits them in galleries or on his Art Farm . This is a unique and unconventional form of pet tattooing, which therefore provokes debate by many about the morality of this art form. The most widely accepted utilisation of pet tattooing, however, is for animal identification. This occurs within the agricultural industry, at breeding farms, in scientific laboratories or for the identification of domesticated pets. Anaesthetic or other methods of sedation are commonly administered for this type of procedure, with the aim to provide minimal harm and pain to the animal. There is a diversity of opinion concerning the morality of animal tattooing, as animal welfare is becoming an increasingly apparent issue within contemporary society. Animal rights activists are raising alarm about potential discomfort or permanent harm that tattooing can induce on animals.

History of Pet Tattooing

The act of animal tattooing can be traced back to 2,000 B.C., where the Egyptians marked their cattle with tattoos in order to prevent theft. These tattoos signified ownership of cattle and was recurrently seen in early historical records. However, it has been discovered that cattle tattooing only became widespread in the 16^th Century, when the Spanish explorers brought the first herd of cattle to North America. It was common for these tattoos to be the owner’s initials or the name of their ranch, as a symbol of ownership as well as identification.

There is also evidence of animal tattooing in the first half of the twentieth century, utilised by the military. A newspaper article from 1910 outlined that it was common for the military to tattoo identification numbers onto horse’s hooves, as armies were still operating on horsepower. However, these markings only lasted for approximately four months. Due to this, the British Army began tattooing identification numbers and letters onto the inside of horse’s lips; this eventually became a commonplace technique among many military units.

Tattooist Bob Shaw stated that in middle of the 20^th Century, himself, as well as many other tattooists, used to tattoo the pink marks on dogs’ noses to make them appear completely black for either aesthetic reasons, or to avoid sunburn. Shaw reported that many of his friends that were performing these types of tattoos had black marks on their hands, from the dogs jumping from pain. These tattoo procedures were performed at the veterinary clinic, and dogs were administered a small amount of anaesthetic to avoid great pain.

Art and Culture

The act of tattooing an animal has been used in visual arts, for cultural/ personal purposes and can even be traced back to biblical religious texts, such as Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Belgium-born artist Wim Delvoye (b.1965) is renowned for his unique artistic and conceptual practice involving the tattooing of live pigs, which he began in 1997. Delvoye’s interest in using pigs was due to his fascination in art that can grow in both size and value over time. Producing art onto a pig’s body was also an interesting paradox to Delvoye, as he aimed to comment on the notion of ‘High Art’ and ‘prestige’ within the art world. The designs that Delvoye tattoos on pigs are heavily influenced by popular culture, for example Louis Vuitton logos and cartoon characters. Delvoye’s body of work titled Art Farm is one of his most well-known collections and is exhibited either as an installation of live pigs within a gallery setting, or just as flat pig skin wall hangings. However, if one of the tattooed pigs pass away and are still completely intact, Delvoye stuffs the body and exhibits it as a sculpture. When Delvoye tattoos a live pig he sedates it, then applies Vaseline to its skin and shaves it. All tattooing is performed at Delvoye’s farm in China. Delvoye confirms that he inflicts the least amount of pain possible on the pigs, and that they are “very spoiled” and taken good care of. Because the pigs grow five to ten kilograms heavier every week, Delvoye’s group of tattoo artists work hard to constantly re-do and re-size the tattoos on the pigs. However, Delvoye’s aim is that the tattoos are ephemeral, growing naturally in conjunction with the pigs’ growth.

Tattooed camel on the outskirts of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in India.

Pet Tattooing is also used for decorative purposes within some parts of the world, such as America and Russia. An example of tattooing animals for decorative means occurred in Detroit in 2007, where at least seven pet shops in the metro area sold tattooed Parrot Cichlid fish for Valentine’s Day. These fish were tattooed with pink lips and the text ‘I (heart) U’ on their bodies. An injection or a laser was used on these fish in order to imprint a permanent design. This was therefore administered purely for aesthetic means, which provoked disappointment from animal rights activists.

Tattooing onto animals is also becoming an increasingly popular trend in Russia, predominantly on domesticated cats. A well-known example of this was performed by Russian tattoo artist Aleksandr in 2017, who illustrated four tattoos on his hairless sphinx cat, Demon. This occurred in the Russian city of Yekaterinberg. Aleksandr administered anaesthesia to his cat, and then proceeded to tattoo him with symbols that are associated with criminal gangs in Russia such as a cigarette, a woman and playing cards. Some animal activists were disappointed upon hearing about this story, arguing that Sphynx cats have sensitive and delicate skin, and therefore a tattoo procedure was too risky and painful for the cat. Aleksandr defended himself, arguing that what he had done to his cat was no more harmful than how farmers tattoo their livestock.  

Animal Identification

Identification tattoo inside a greyhound's ear

The most common use of animal tattooing is for animal identification purposes. Animal identification is essential in the agricultural industry, due to its aid in identity confirmation, breeding security and theft prevention. Within the realm of livestock production, animal identification aids producers in the documentation of areas such as reproduction, health issues, milk production and medical procedures.

The method of tattooing identification codes on animals is very complex and specific and is commonly taught very early in agricultural training. There are several different procedures associated with animal identification tattooing; the appropriate procedure is determined through examining the size of the animal, the size of the herd or the various purposes for identification. Animal identification can either be permanent or non-permanent. Examples of non-permanent animal identification are paint and chalk, whereas tattooing and ear tags are examples of permanent identification. For dairy cattle, beef cattle and goats, tattoos are usually done on the ears. Cats and dogs are usually tattooed either on the ear or stomach, whereas horses are commonly tattooed inside of their lips. The cattle tattooing procedure requires numbers or letters made of sharp needles, rubbing alcohol, tattoo ink, gloves and pliers. To ensure hygiene and decrease the risk of spreading infection throughout a herd, all tattoo equipment used must be sanitised after use. A certain amount of restraint is required to keep the animals stable for tattooing, so it is suggested that small animals be held in someone’s arms, and larger animals be placed in a chute or stanchion. Several weeks after the tattoo is executed, the ink will dry and flake, leaving a legible permanent identification.

For domesticated pets, tattooing is not recommended as the primary identification procedure of choice. This is because tattooing animals requires heavy sedation as well as specific disinfected equipment for every procedure. Furthermore, tattoos on domesticated pets are likely to become superfluous due to hair growth and fading over time. There are also no specific guidelines for identification tattoo placement on domesticated animals, so it may be hard to detect the whereabouts or existence of an identification tattoo on these animals. For dogs and cats, the primary recommended form of identification is a collar as it is non-intrusive and has a high success rate of reunification with owners when lost. However, identification tattoos can also be beneficial as they are argued to be more reliable and permanent than a collar or microchip. It is common for veterinarians and breeders to use an electric tattoo machine to tattoo animals, but sometimes manual hand tattooing is utilised instead. When using an electric tattoo machine, veterinarians and breeders typically put animals under anaesthesia prior to the procedure in order to inflict minimal pain.

Other examples of animal identification tattooing can be seen within the biomedical industry for experimental subjects in a laboratory, predominantly relating to rats. Animal identification is very important in this field; tattoos are used to ensure that no domesticated companion animals are accidentally in a research lab. Identification tattoos are also commonly used by breeders to maintain accurate documentation of their kennel, or for veterinarians or animal rescue organisations to signify whether or not a rescued animal has been spayed.

Ethical Implications of Pet Tattooing

The discourse surrounding the treatment of animals dates back to ancient religious texts; Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism abandoned the concept of animal sacrifice in their biblical texts, as Eastern philosophy believes in non-violence to all living beings. In the Islamic religion, adherents are taught that Allah has granted humans with power over animals, however, bad treatment of animals is wholly forbidden.