TheInternational Society for Applied Ethology is the leadingnon-profitprofessional organization for academics and scientists interested in the behaviour andwelfare of confined or domesticated animals, includingcompanion,farm,laboratory andzoo animalspecies.
The Society was created inEdinburgh in 1966, as the Society for Veterinary Ethology (SVE). It rapidly expanded to cover all applied aspects ofEthology and otherBehavioural Sciences, which are relevant to manyhuman-animal interactions, such as farming, wildlife management, the keeping of companion and laboratory animals, and the control of pests. The Society also quickly became increasingly international: it now has a federal, international structure as well as regional representatives around the world. In 1991, on the 25th anniversary of the SVE, the society was renamed the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE). At the International Congress that year a paper was presented by Carol Petherick and Ian Duncan entitled "The Society for Veterinary Ethology 1966-1991 the 25th Anniversary Review".[1]
Administration of the Society is the responsibility of a Council. The council also provides technical evidence on topics relating to animal behaviour and animal welfare during the committee stages of government legislation, for example, by discussion with groups such as the UK'sFarm Animal Welfare Council. TheEuropean Parliament and theCouncil of Europe also consult council on such matters.
The membership is drawn from all areas of the world and is divided into 11 regions based on geography. ISAE encourages academic activity within the regions, including support of regional meetings, and also holds an annualCongress based, in alternate years, inEurope and elsewhere in the world. The 50th Anniversary Congress was held back inEdinburgh in July 2016 and commemorated with the publication of the book "Animals and Us: 50 Years and More of Applied Ethology."[2] The congress was not held in 2020 due to COVID and was hosted virtually in 2021. In 2022 the congress took place in North Macedonia.[3]
ISAE's officialscientific journal isApplied Animal Behaviour Science (AABS),[4] a monthly publication, originally established asApplied Animal Ethology in 1974. AABS continues to be published byElsevier.
Honorary Fellows of the society includeRuth Harrison,Donald Broom andMichael C. Appleby.[5] Another notable member isTemple Grandin.
