I don't know anything about removing the chips. However, my vet did tell
me some time ago that there are concerns about cancer at the site of
chips. It's ironic because they were (and are) touted as a way of
protecting our pets. Mine do not have chips because they are entirely
indoor pets, but the subject came up when I mentioned to my vet that there
have been recommendations that even indoor cats should be microchipped
"just in case." I decided against it after that conversation.
This article pretty much got me going on it. I do not like the way the
business that is pushing the chips is operated. They seem pretty shady to
me. The statistics are not of a long enough period of time for me to trust
them. Chipping cats is relatively new. It remains to be seen the results
of the next several years as they cats age.
My vet said she would remove the chip if I asked. So I am giving it serious
consideration.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2008
CASPIAN RELEASES NEW EVIDENCE OF VERICHIP LIES AND DECEPTION
Group's Latest Report Sets Record Straight on Chip Implants, Cancer, and
more
Opponents of the VeriChip implant are launching a new offensive against
the controversial human microchip this week, amid reports that VeriChip
plans to put its chipping division on the auction block. A new report
titled "Microchip Implants: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions"
released today by CASPIAN Consumer Privacy reveals dirty laundry the
company would probably rather keep hidden as it seeks a buyer for its
beleaguered product.
The 42-page report was authored by CASPIAN director Dr. Katherine
Albrecht, a Harvard-educated privacy expert and long-time critic of the
VeriChip. The highlight of the report is an eleven-page section titled
"Cancer Cover-up" that describes a systematic pattern of lies and
deception engaged by VeriChip executives in an effort to downplay the
fact that implantable microchips cause cancer in laboratory animals.
The report reveals how news outlets like Time Magazine, Business Week,
and the RFID Journal were used as unwitting pawns in a VeriChip scheme
to spread misinformation about the cancer studies. Since research
linking the product to cancer first surfaced last year, each of these
publications has repeated misstatements from VeriChip company
executives, in many cases printing the inaccurate statements verbatim
and unchallenged.
"These were not subjective issues, they were plainly verifiable issues
of fact," Albrecht said. "We were saddened to see the misstatements fall
through the fact-checking cracks of these respected publications. Now
that VeriChip is back in the headlines, we felt it was time to set the
record straight."
VeriChip's media efforts have done little to salvage the company's
public image or its financial performance, both of which plummeted after
research linking the implantable microchip to cancer was widely revealed
by the Associated Press in September 2007. The same company that once
predicted revenues in the "billions" earned just $3,000 from its
microchip implant operations in the first quarter of 2008, as patients
shun the device that many are now calling the "cancer chip."
Investors have also distanced themselves from the failing company, with
VeriChip's stock plummeting from a high of $10.62 last year to just over
$2.00 today.
VeriChip's VP of business development, Jay McKeage, acknowledged the
implant division suffers from "a substantial cash burn" and is "not
sustainable on its own." As a result, he says, VeriChip plans to "shop
the VeriMed / Health Link [human implantable chip] business around
widely" in hopes that another company will take the unpopular product
off its hands.
However, with recent blog headlines like "VeriChip Death Watch" making
the rounds, Albrecht has a hard time imagining who, if anyone, will want
to buy the business.
"This is a company that has engaged in a consistent pattern of making
false and misleading statements," she said. "It has lied to the public,
to the media, to its shareholders, and to regulatory agencies," she
said, citing additional evidence from the report indicating that
VeriChip hid cancer evidence from the FDA when the agency reviewed the
implant's safety in 2004.
"We laid out all the evidence in our report," she added. "We want to
make sure no one else gets burned by VeriChip."
================================================== ===========
ABOUT THE REPORT
CASPIAN's new report, "Microchip Implants: Answers to Frequently Asked
Questions," is a comprehensive reference guide to implantable microchips
in animals and humans. It provides thoroughly-researched, footnoted
answers to 85 of the most commonly asked questions about the implantable
microchip, including religious, privacy, social, and health questions.
The report concludes with a list of recommendations for patients, pet
owners, and policy makers affected by the device.
The new report is available for free download on the group's
AntiChips.com website at:
http://www.antichips.com/faq/index.html
While on the website, readers are encouraged to download Dr. Albrecht's
comprehensive 52-page overview of the studies, "Microchip-Induced Tumors
in Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990-2006,"
and to review scanned copies of the original documents.
================================================== ===================
ABOUT CASPIAN
CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is a
grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999
and irresponsible RFID use since 2002. With thousands of members in all 50
U.S. states and over 30 countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate
consumers about marketing strategies that invade their
privacy and encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail
spectrum.
http://www.spychips.com/
http://www.antichips.com/
http://www.nocards.org/
You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who
may find it of interest.
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