Assessment of retinal recognition technology as a biometric identification method in norduz sheep

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of retinal imaging technology, a biometric identification method, to verify the identity of Norduz sheep. For this purpose, retinal images of both eyes of 60 adult sheep were taken with retinal scanning device. A total of 360 retinal images obtained during the study were used for identification purposes. The matching scores of the retinal images obtained in the study according to the control times were 75.46, 78.93 and 79.97 for the right eyes; 89.28, 89.10 and 89.74 for the left eyes, respectively. In correlations of matching scores, it was found the significant (p<0.01) relationships between 1.-2. and 1.-3. control times in both right and left eyes. As a result, retinal imaging technology was found to be a reliable biometric method to verify the identity of animals. However, in order to verify the identity of the animals at a higher rate, the operator should be trained, the head of the animals should be kept immobile and in-barn light conditions must be taken into consideration in order not to affect the eye opening.