Minimum standards for research in AAS/HAI/HAB

Purpose and scope

The International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO) has developed minimum standards for research in:

• Animal-Assisted Services (AAS)
• Human-Animal Interaction (HAI)
• Human-Animal Bond (HAB).

These standards provide a baseline for ethical and methodological rigor while safeguarding the well-being of both humans and animals. They are designed to be internationally relevant, flexible, and evolving, reflecting ongoing advances in research, education, practice and policy.

Why standards are needed

Research in this field has grown rapidly, but challenges remain:

• Variability in quality and terminology reduces comparability across studies
• Over-reliance on certain types of research (e.g., RCTs) excludes innovative approaches and small-scale practice-based research
• Animal well-being has too often been overlooked despite its central role
• Fragmentation across disciplines slows the translation of knowledge into practice

By setting minimum international standards, IAHAIO seeks to:

• Ensure ethical safeguards for humans and animals – placing human and animal well-being at the forefront
• Strengthen research quality, transparency, and reproducibility
• Foster cross-disciplinary collaboration
• Enable collaborative practice, education and policy-making
• Improve funding access and policy relevance

Adopting these standards will:

• Enhance the rigor, credibility and reliability of research in AAS/HAI/HAB
• Place human and animal well-being at the forefront
• Enable collaborative practice, education and policy-making

Target audiences

These standards are designed for, amongst others:

• Researchers designing and reporting studies
• Practitioners and educators embedding research into practice and curricula
• Students in or entering the field
• Journal editors and reviewers ensuring integrity and consistency
• Institutions, funders, and ethics boards evaluating and supporting research
• Policy and law makers shaping regulatory frameworks

How the document is organized

The standards are presented in three main sections: Introduction, Requirements and Practicalities and Conclusion, supported by five Appendices. The main text explains the rationale, ethical foundations, and practical considerations for each stage of research. The appendices provide focused guidance on the key topics: Research design, Animal well-being, Risks; Qualifications, Resources and existing guidelines). This structure allows readers to grasp the principles quickly in the core document while accessing specialized, detailed guidance in the appendices as needed.

Key messages

Click here to read the 12 key messages contained in the standards.

How the standards were developed

The Standards  are the result of an international collaboration between IAHAIO and partners, starting in May 2023. A workshop at the IAHAIO conference in Romania, September 2024, provided opportunity for feedback from researchers and practitioners and a further presentation of the near-completed Standards was given at the IAHAIO conference in Amsterdam in August, 2025. The Standards were published in December 2025.

What makes these research standards unique?

These standards offer a theoretical and practical contribution, and  are unique because:

• Unlike existing standards or guidelines, they address both humans and animals
• They were co-created with the active cooperation of global international partners
• They consider academia, practice and education as equivalents, and are targeted across domains

Comment from working group member:

“Studies on AAS, HAI and HAB are increasing. There is a need to understand HAI, including a need to  recognize when AAS and the HAB are truly effective. Evaluation of outcomes is a particular issue given the nature of HAI, e.g., animals and their ‘unstandardized’ behaviors, and their variety of practical applications. Hence, there is a strong need for high-quality research that empirically evaluates the psychological, social, and biological aspects of HAI, grounded in both theory and practice, i.e., taking a scientist-practitioner approach. These new, interdisciplinary IAHAIO Research Standards are the first standards worldwide that assist in that endeavor, assuring that research is done properly and ethically, considering human, non-human and environmental actors –applying a one-welfare approach – resulting in valid, applicable outcomes.”

The international working group members

The international collaboration consisted of 51 participants representing research, practice and education from different countries and disciplines. A Small Working Subgroup, led by IAHAIO Board members Joni Delanoeije and Karin Hediger, under the Presidency of Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers, met regularly to develop the Standards, with input from the larger working group of 51 participants and the IAHAIO Board.

• Delanoeije, Joni ^{1,2,3 *}
• Hediger, Karin ^{1,4,5 *}
• Barnfield, Anne ⁶
• De Santis, Marta ⁷
• McBride, Anne ⁸
• Rusu, Alina ^1,9
• van Dierendonck, Machteld ^10,11

* IAHAIO representatives; corresponding authors

¹ International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO), Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

² Work and Organisation Studies, Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Belgium

³ Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen), Belgium (joni.delanoeije@kuleuven.be)

⁴ Faculty of Behavioral Sciences and Psychology, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland (karin.hediger@unilu.ch)

⁵ Faculty of Psychology, Open University, Heerlen, Netherlands (karin.hediger@ou.nl)

⁶ Professor Emerita, Psychology, Brescia University College – University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada (abarnfie@uwo.ca)

⁷ National Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro (PD), Italy (mdesantis@izsvenezie.it)

⁸ School of Psychology, University of Southampton, UK, SO17 IBJ, Southampton, United Kingdom (amcb@soton.ac.uk)

⁹ Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnologies, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania (alina.rusu@usamvcluj.ro)

¹⁰ Ethology and Animal Welfare Research Group, Department of Veterinary and Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium (machteld.vandierendonck@ugent.be)

¹¹ Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Future directions

The IAHAIO Research Standards are a living document, intended to evolve with new evidence and practice. Priorities include: Building transdisciplinary practitioner-researcher networks

• Securing funding pathways through demonstration of rigor
• Influencing policy frameworks with robust evidence
• Embedding animal welfare and benefit for people and animals at the heart of all research

Feedback – be part of the conversation

Contact for feedback and contributions: policy@iahaio.org