We welcome any practitioners to join FAB Clinicians as a Candidate Member if they wish to prepare for independent accreditation as a clinical animal behaviourist along one of the following pathways:

• Clinicians working towards accreditation by CCAB Certification Ltd.
• Behavioural Medicine Residents of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine (ECAWBM);
• Residents of the American College of Veterinary Behaviourists (ACVB);
• Residents of the ANZCVS Veterinary Behaviour Chapter (ANZCVS).
• Residents of the Colegio Veterinario Latinoamericano de Bienestar Animal y Medicina del Comportamiento (CVLBAMC)

FAB Clinicians will help you as a Candidate Member along the path to independent accreditation as a Clinical Animal Behaviourist.  Our fellowship supports Candidate Members’ clinical training, such as by linking up those requiring different levels of practical support with those in a position to offer it.  Candidate Members will have access to various mentoring and learning opportunities.  FAB Clinicians will be further developing resources to assist with accreditation progression.

Candidate Members are expected to have already gained the theoretical knowledge necessary before undertaking clinical practice.

Therefore we accept Candidate Members who have one of the following:

•            Residency of one of the above veterinary behaviour colleges;
•            CCAB Pre-certification or successful completion of a CCAB validated course (previously ASAB validated);
•            Successful completion of an ABTC recognised CAB course;
•            CAB registration of the ABTC;

Please note that for accreditation by an independent body, candidates who do not fulfil one of the first two criteria, may need to undertake further academic study to demonstrate theoretical knowledge in all of the subject areas as required by the external accreditation bodies.  Then you will need to gain substantial clinical training experience before becoming independently accredited (e.g. for CCAB clincial skills assessment).  We encourage all our practising members to engage with the available support offered by FAB Clinicians.  Candidate Members should only see clinical cases following referral or delegation by a veterinary surgeon and within the extent of their professional competence (sometimes under the guidance of others).  To find out what you will need, please contact the external body responsible for your chosen route.

Due to the specific differences in the mode of assessment for Candidates of international veterinary behaviour colleges compared to that of CCAB accreditation, although we welcome Candidates for assessment by ECAWBM, ACVB or ANZCVS, FAB Clinicians are currently unable to offer support to Candidates that is specifically targeted towards these international assessment schemes.  Candidates seeking accreditation through routes outside the UK would still be welcome to join in any of our Candidate Members events and schemes, which we hope would still be of great use to them.

NB:  Members of ANZCVS not seeking Fellowship and AWSEL Residents of ECAWBM would instead be welcome to become FAB Clinicians Sponsors.  You may also wish to consider applying for our non-practising Contributing Supporter membership category (below).

We welcome anyone interested in working towards gaining the knowledge base required for future accreditation within the field of animal behaviour, to apply for Student Membership.  FAB Clinicians provides a nurturing professional environment in which to grow and progress along your career path.  You will be able to access mentoring and learning opportunities targeted for members at various points in their clinical animal behaviour journeys.

The minimum requirement for Student Membership is that you are studying for a course equivalent to UK Government Qualification or FHEQ Level 5 or above, with at least one animal or psychology related unit.  Please note that, although a small number of the academic requirements for accreditation (e.g. as a CCAB) have a minimum requirement of FHEQ Level 4, as part of the independent accreditation process, you will be required to complete further academic courses at least to Level 5 and Level 6 in the majority of the necessary subject areas (e.g. as detailed on the CCAB web site). Completion of a course which has been validated by CCAB is the surest guarantee that the academic requirements for independent accreditation will be met.  Once you have completed all of these academic requirements, then you will be able to apply for Candidate Membership and start acquiring the clinical skills necessary for independent accreditation.

The Student Member category is essentially for those embarking on qualifications in the field who do not currently possess the required experience to see cases independently and who we will support on their academic journey. However, we are aware that there may be some experienced practitioners already in the field who are topping up their qualifications and we would like to provide support and mentoring to help them in their professional progression towards attaining the academic requirements necessary for independent accreditation as a clinical animal behaviourist.  Any Student Members who are clinically practising are required by FAB Clinicians and our regulators to practice under the direct supervision of a registered CAB or another suitably qualified and competent professional in all their behaviour cases outside of their contracted employment.  If you feel that you are in this position as an experienced practitioner, please contact our Membership Liaison (info@fabclinicians.org) who will be able to provide you with further information.  You can also find the answers to common questions about practising as a student member on this document

Supporting FAB Clinicians, its aims and being part of its community can continue into your retirement. For those who are no longer practising due to cessation of employment in clinical animal behaviour and were previously Certificated Members of FAB Clinicians or previously Certificated by one of its independent accrediting bodies  (ASAB/CCAB Certification Ltd., ECAWBM, ACVB, ANZCVS or CVLBAMC), we offer Retired Membership. Note that eligibility for this category does not preclude you from taking on other related work, but you are retired from seeing clinical cases.

To become a Retired Certificated Member of FAB Clinicians, the applicant must have retired from their profession of their own choice and not due to any upheld complaint made against them to any accreditation organisation or FAB Clinicians.  Retired Certificated Members of FAB Clinicians will be encouraged, but not obliged, to play a continuing role in the development and support of FAB Clinicians.  If you are an existing FAB Clinicians Certificated Member and would like to change your listing to Retired, please email info@fabclinicians.org .

For this non-practising membership category, FAB Clinicians are looking for people who can forge strong links between animal carers, behaviourists and veterinary professionals, as well as supporting the development of independently accredited practitioners in the field of clinical animal behaviour through mentoring, continuous professional development and supportive fellowship. We would also like to attract individuals who will help us promote evidence-based behavioural support for animals and their carers, to the highest scientific standards, in an empathetic and compassionate manner. CSMs will need to demonstrate how they can contribute to the running of FAB Clinicians, support our mission statement and our members through their qualifications, skills, interest and/or experience, complimentary to the field of clinical animal behaviour. For instance, they may be able to assist on one of FAB Clinicians’ subcommittees. Examples of people whom we would welcome as CSMs are:

• • Lecturers or researchers in areas such as animal behaviour, welfare science, law and ethics, zoology, or human psychology;
  • Individuals working in or associated with supporting stakeholder organisations, such as animal welfare charities;
  • Individuals with complimentary skills and/or experience of benefit to FAB Clinicians, such as those with a background in:
    • professional mentoring;
    • veterinary policy work;
    • producing animal welfare television documentaries;
    • public relations and fund-raising;
    • IT, events management, or administrative experience within an animal care setting.

As with all our other members, CSMs need to abide by our Code of Conduct. Applicants who are practising and seeing behaviour cases should instead consider applying for Certificated or Candidate Membership.  Other individuals may not be able to contribute their skills in a particular membership year, so they may instead wish to consider becoming a FAB Clinicians Sponsor. Alternatively, if part of a particular stakeholder group, they may wish to consider being a Stakeholder Representative.