Avid Rumors

In the last 48 hours Avid has been at the receiving end of a barrage of
email and telephone calls all relating to an assertion that Avid data
related to microchips is being provided to HSUS and that some of Avid's
business activities provide money to HSUS.

The information we are getting is provided to us from a few of the people
who have been receiving this, apparently for at least several days now. A
common claim includes the false assertion that " If you are purchasing Avid
chips . beware that HSUS will now have your information (name, address,
phone)."

Let me state categorically Avid's policy and position with respect to the
claims raised specifically and the issues reached indirectly.

Avid does not provide data to outside organizations. It is only used within
our operations for immediate recovery purposes. No information whatsoever
that Avid acquires, processes or holds in its database is provided directly
or indirectly to HSUS. None of the business activities, including PetPlan
Insurance, provides any money to HSUS, either directly or indirectly. Any
representation that Avid information is made available by any method to HSUS
is false.

This has the characteristics of a disinformation storm motivated by
commercial aims. One reason I believe this is so is that Avid was never
contacted about these sorts of claims before they began to be disseminated
in forums and blogs in the internet.

It is only because of the forwarding of some of these emails, from what I am
sure is a very small portion of the number of people actually having
received this information, that we have become aware of it.

Some of these are breeders that Avid has been doing business for 10 years.
Even from those who have been aware or Avid's practices over the last 25
years of business, and have been very helpful and taken effort to verify
information, nonetheless are writing asking us to reconsider our position,
not realizing that this assumes the truth of something they actually want to
ask about.

Some minority of people were kind enough to take the time to write us. Some
of them even made phone calls and tried to independently get information and
provided that to us. That takes a lot of time. We appreciate that. They had
very constructive tones in their emails. That is very useful and helpful. We
also appreciate that. But even there, they end up implicitly taking the
position that what they heard is true and we should change our minds. One of
the quotes is "We hope that Avid is taking this seriously and will
reconsider their position." Of course we take this seriously. It is at the
core of our principles. Our position has always been for privacy and for
recovery. That is what it is. So there is no reconsideration to take place.
Even in the most forthcoming and constructive email, which was very long,
you end up with implicitly saying 'You are doing it. Please change your
mind.'

One of the writers says - and I think it is perfectly fair - "If I do not
receive a response, I will assume it is all true." I think that is a fair
position, and that is why I have to respond.

I have had to respond, I have to say, before I have really gotten to the
bottom of it all. Because there are deeply mysterious and puzzling things
about this. It is still murky. We are kind of in this windstorm and there is
a lot of dust and confusion around, but the center of the storm seems to be
a completely mistaken, utterly false idea that Avid passes its data onto
HSUS either directly or indirectly. So that part has to be addressed, and we
are still going to pursue a better understanding of everything else that is
going on.

I feel very strongly about this and it drives my emotions. My apologies for
this windy and disorganized email, which is meant to be conversational more
than documentary.

Before closing, I have to say that it angers me just as much that good
people are left in the position of having repeated, in good faith and from
what they believe to be reliable sources, information which is literally
false. Such is the rumour mill. To those I say that I value your good name
as my own. In cases where this has caused venom to be directed to us, I say
I approve of the passion, but ask that it be directed where it belongs.

Peter Troesch
VP Avid Identification Systems