Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour and Animal Behavior Society. 2020. Guidelines for the treatment of animals in behavioural research and teaching. Animal Behaviour 159, I-XI.

While the furthering of scientific knowledge is a proper aim, and may itself advance an awareness of human responsibility towards animal life, the investigator must always weigh the potential gain in knowledge against any adverse consequences for the individual animals, the populations under study and the wider ecosystem. This is equally true for the evaluation of animal use in animal behaviour teaching activities. To help both researchers and teachers make what are sometimes difficult ethical judgements about the procedures involved in the study of animals, the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour and the Animal Behavior Society have formed Ethical and Animal Care Committees, respectively, and each appoints an Ethics Editor that serves on the editorial board of Animal Behaviour. These committees jointly produced the following guidelines for the use of all those who are engaged in behavioural research and teaching activities involving vertebrate and invertebrate animals.