It is the stance of the IIACAB and its Endorsed Professionals that animal-friendly, positive-reinforcement based methods are the most useful and least risky methods to use in animal training and behavior change programming, and most conducive to facilitating the human-animal bond. Furthermore, we take the stance that aversive stimulation and positive punishment / negative reinforcement-based methods are generally unethical, inefficient, risks serious harm and are the most likely methods to deteriorate the human-animal bond. IIACAB does not condone or endorse the use of aversive tools such as, but not limited to choke chains, prong collars, electronic invisible fencing or electronic shock-collars. Nor do we condone or endorse the use of aversive methods such as but not limited to leash corrections, helicoptering, hanging, alpha-rolling, scruff-shaking, spraying the animal in the face with fluid, throwing things at the animal, hitting in any way or otherwise creating fear or pain in animals.
IIACAB and its Endorsed Professionals recognizes that animal training and behavior change programming methods and procedures are on a continuum ranging from unacceptably harsh methods to training that uses primarily excessively aversive stimulation. IIACAB and its Endorsed Professionals are dedicated to supporting the use of methods from the positive reinforcement end of the continuum. IIACAB and its Endorsed Professionals are dedicated to the least aversive and minimally intrusive methods.
IIACAB and its Endorsed Professionals are committed to using and advocating for training techniques that are "animal-friendly."
IIACAB and its Endorsed Professionals hereby define animal-friendly as used in our mission statement and with regards to the practices of Endorsed Professionals to mean:
"Animal-friendly training is training that utilizes primarily positive reinforcement and avoides where possible aversive stimulation, taking the least aversive and minimally intrusive approach to resolving problem behaviors or training new behaviors."