ANITECH WELCOMES NATIONAL MICROCHIP STANDARD FOR PETS.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 1995-- Anitech Enterprises Inc. the owner of PetNet, Canada's national pet registry, welcomes the establishment of a single, national technology standard for microchip identification of pet animals as announced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The joint decision of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) is a major achievement that will help pet owners ensure that their pets are permanently identified and protected against loss.

Anitech supplies PetNet microchips and scanners to veterinarians, humane societies and the Canadian Kennel Club that are fully compatible with the new Canadian microchip standard. PetNet also operates Canada's national pet registry on which over 125,000 Canadian pets are already registered. Across Canada 295 shelters and pounds are equipped with PetNet readers capable of identifying PetNet microchips and over 600 veterinary clinics are part of the PetNet network. Over 28 shelters require that all dogs and cats purchased from the shelter carry a PetNet chip and are registered on the PetNet registry - the shelters include the Toronto, Ottawa-Carleton, Ontario, and Winnipeg Humane Societies and the Edmonton S.P.C.A. The PetNet pet registration network is fully compatible with the new National standard.

"PetNet's microchip identification system is simple, safe, effective and inexpensive. Using a syringe, a veterinarian inserts the tiny grain of rice sized microchip in a painless procedure that is done within seconds. We reunite over 5,000 PetNet registered pets every year. Our 24 hour PetNet hotline is always on call to identify PetNet registered pets and reunite them with their owners, wherever they are lost in Canada", said PetNet President, Paul Brown.

PetNet also welcomes the decision of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to implement the new microchip standard in its dog importation regulations by September 1995. Dogs imported under the new regulations will be required to be microchipped with chips that meet the specifications as outlined in the new Canadian standard. Once registered on PetNet's national registry these dogs can be identified by PetNet scanners located in shelters and veterinary clinics across Canada.

This recent decision follows the efforts of the Association of Animal Shelter Administrators of Ontario, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, and others who earlier developed the Ontario Guidelines for microchip identification. It also follows a more recent decision by the CVMA in establishing the same technology standard for microchips, for veterinarians across Canada.

CONTACT: Jim Kuzniar

Vice President, Sales and Marketing

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