SO. ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital Angel Corporation , an advanced technology company in the field of rapid and accurate identification, location tracking and condition monitoring of high-value assets, announced today that the U.S. Congress has set aside $33.3 million for projects related to the national animal identification program. The Senate version of the Bill urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to consider Digital Angel's RFID technology in developing that program.
Language in the Senate version of the recently approved FY2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill noted that Digital Angel RFID technology has already proven its value to the federal government during the Company's 15-year relationship with the U.S. Department of Energy and its work in the salmon fishing industry. Digital Angel provides the government with electronic tags and scanners to track salmon in fisheries throughout the Northwest.
Since the December 2003 incident of Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in the state of Washington, the USDA has initiated the development of a national animal identification program for cattle, with a target completion date of 2008-2009.
"Digital Angel has a proud history of leadership in animal identification, specifically related to cattle, pigs and other livestock, as well as fish and poultry, and our inclusion in the senate version of this bill shows that the U.S. Senate has recognized that," said Digital Angel CEO Kevin McGrath. "Significant amounts of money have been spent for several years in pilot programs to understand what technologies will work in animal identification programs. We believe the information that has been gathered is now advanced enough that a significant portion of the money appropriated this year should be spent on the implementation of a national ID program and we hope the USDA, through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), agrees."
Digital Angel's proprietary and comprehensive RFID traceability system includes electronic tags and scanners as well as a database system that can provide for the registration, tracking and source verification for the animals tagged in the national identification program. The Company expects to sell more than 3 million electronic RFID tags in the U.S. this year.
About Digital Angel Corporation
Digital Angel Corporation develops and deploys sensor and communications technologies that enable rapid and accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value assets. Applications for the Company's products include identification and monitoring of humans, pets, fish and livestock through its patented implantable microchips; location tracking and message monitoring of vehicles and aircraft in remote locations through systems that integrate GPS and geosynchronous satellite communications; and monitoring of asset conditions such as temperature and movement, through advanced miniature sensors.
Digital Angel Corporation is majority-owned by Applied Digital Inc. . For more information about Digital Angel, please visit http://www.digitalangelcorp.com/.
The statements in this press release that are not strictly historical, are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by these sections. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and the actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, that the Company's majority stockholder, Applied Digital Inc. owns 55.4% of the Company's common stock; that new accounting pronouncements may impact the Company's future results of operation; that the Company may continue to incur losses, that infringements by third parties on the Company's intellectual property or development of substantially equivalent proprietary technology by the Company's competitors could negatively affect the Company's business; that domestic and foreign government regulation and other factors could impair the Company's ability to develop and sell the Company's products in certain markets; that the Company relies on sales to government contractors of its animal identification products, and any decline in the demand by these customers for the Company's products could negatively affect the Company's business; that the Company depends on a single production arrangement for its patented syringe-injectable microchips; that the Company depends on principal customers; that the Company competes with other companies and the products sold by the Company's competitors could become more popular than the Company's products or render the Company's products as obsolete; that the Company's earnings will decline if the Company must write-off goodwill and other intangible assets; that the exercise of options and warrants outstanding and available for issuance may adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock ;that currency exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on the Company's sales and financial results; and that the Company depends on a small team of senior management and the Company may have difficulty attracting and retaining additional personnel. A detailed statement of risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in particular the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004. Investors and stockholders are urged to read this document carefully. The Company can offer no assurances that any projections, assumptions or forecasts made or discussed in this release will be met, and investors should understand the risks of investing solely due to such projections. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc
Michael Lucarelli (investors) Brian Kennedy (media)
212-691-8087 212-691-8087
