ISAE Committees and Experts
Since the founding of the Society for Veterinary Ethology in 1966 and our renaming as the International Society for Applied Ethology, the ISAE has grown from a small group of British veterinarians to an international society spanning many scientific disciplines. Today, the ISAE is a non-profit organisation with an international federal structure and representatives around the world. Administration of the Society is the responsibility of a Council comprising a President, Senior and Junior Vice-President, and 10 other voting members with unique responsibilities. Additionally, there are several non-voting positions, an auditor and legal assessor, as well as a regional secretary for each of the 11 regions. The Council also provides technical evidence on topics relating to animal behaviour and animal welfare during the committee stages of government legislation.
Congress Advisory Committee
Chair: Senior Vice-President
Dr. Mark Rutter
Senior Editor
Dr. Kris Descovich
Chair/representative for 2019 Bergen, Norway Congress
Dr. Bjarne Braastad
Chair/representative for 2022 Ohrid, North Macedonia Congress
Dr. Miroslav Kjosevski and Dr. Vlatko Ilieski
Chair/representative for 2023 Tallinn, Estonia Congress
Dr. David Arney
Chair/representative for 2024 Curitiba, Brazil Congress
Dr. Ruan Daros
Chair/representative for 2025 Utrecht, Netherlands Congress
Dr. Bas Rodenburg
Congress Attendance Fund Committee
Chair: Senior Vice-President
Dr. Mark Rutter
Treasurer
Dr. Emma Baxter
Council Members
Dr. Jean-Loup Rault
Editorial Committee
Chair: Senior Editor
Dr. Kris Descovich
Junior Editor
Dr. Peta Taylor
Chair of Congress Advisory Committee
Dr. Mark Rutter
Creativity and New Investigator Awards Committee
The committee to determine the recipients of the annual Creativity and New Investigator Awards is chaired by the Assistant Secretary, Kaitlin Wurtz. In addition, 3 ISAE Council members and 2 ISAE members outside of Council sit on the committee.
Ethics Committee
The ISAE Ethical Guidelines are authored by the Ethics Committee:
- Cecilie Mejdell (2016-2022), Norway
- Elize van Vollenhoven (2016-2022), South Africa
- Beth Ventura (2018-2024), USA
- Ellen Williams (2018-2024), UK
- Inès de Freslon (2020-2026), Chile
- Faye Tahamtani (Chair, 2020-2026), Norway
Former Ethics Committee members:
- Alexandra Whittaker (2018-2022), Australia
- Francesco De Giorgio (2014-2020), The Netherlands
- Franck Peron (2014-2020), France
EDIA Committee
The Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) Committee will be working on ways to further promote these aspects in the ISAE:
- Dr Linda Greening (Chair), Hartpury University, UK
- Madison Bacon (PhD candidate), University of Minnesota, USA
- Dr. May Fujiwara, Peacock Technology LTD, UK
- Dr. Arlene Garcia-Marquez, Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine, USA
- Dr. Jeremy Marchant, USDA-ARS, USA
- Dr. Alan McElligott, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University, Hong Kong
- Dr. Oluwaseun Serah Iyasere, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
- Dr. Vijay Pal Singh, CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, India
The current version of the guidelines can be found here.
ISAE Experts
The ISAE provides expertise to the following organisations, among others:
- ASAB Certification scheme for Animal Behaviourists: Danny Mills
- Board of Trustees of the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AALAC): Brianna Gaskill
- Advisory Board of the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest: Carly O'Malley
- EU Platform on Animal Welfare: Bas Rodenburg (pullet welfare working group), Emma Baxter (pig subgroup), Moira Harris (fish welfare subgroup), Mette Herskin (transport subgroup), Janne Winther Christensen (equine subgroup), Heleen van de Weerd (pig castration subgroup)
