These Terms govern membership in International Interspecies Studies and include the community’s code of conduct. By applying, you agree to them.
1. Who we are
The International Interspecies Studies community and the platform are operated from the European Union by etologi.dk and Human-Animal Science, and your membership agreement is with etologi.dk. Payment is handled in the United States by Borderland Barks, which is the merchant of record for your membership and the name that will appear on your statement.
2. How to join
Membership begins with an application. Before your first conversation with us, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy and these Terms.
That first conversation takes place over a video call. It gives us a chance to present you with the platform, and it gives you a chance to see whether the community matches what you are looking for. Either side can decide then that it is not the right fit. We may decline an application at our discretion and without giving a reason.
Membership is open only to adults. By applying, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old.
3. Payment, renewal and access to the platform
Membership is billed annually by Borderland Barks through Stripe and renews each year automatically until you cancel. You may cancel at any time, and cancellation takes effect at the end of your current term.
The fee you pay, plus applicable VAT, stays the same as long as your membership continues without interruption, including through renewals. If your membership lapses, or you cancel and rejoin later, you join at the fee in effect at that time.
Access begins as soon as your payment is completed, and by completing payment you expressly request that it begin immediately and acknowledge the effect this has on any right of withdrawal available to you.
Membership fees are non-refundable. We do not refund unused time, and we do not refund renewals, because a renewal continues your existing membership and is not a new purchase. Canceling stops the next renewal and does not return the fee for your current term. If you are a consumer resident in the EU or EEA, you may withdraw from your first membership term within fourteen days of the day it begins, by telling us so at etologi@etologi.dk. By completing payment, you expressly request that your access begin immediately, within those fourteen days, and you accept that if you withdraw, you will pay a proportionate amount for the access you have had. We end your access on the day your notice reaches us and refund the balance within fourteen days. Withdrawal requires you to stop using and delete any material you obtained during your membership, and it does not release you from liability for any breach of these Terms committed while you had access. Any course certificate issued during that period is withdrawn with the membership, becomes invalid, and may no longer be presented as evidence of completion. This applies once, to your first term only, and not to any renewal, which continues an existing membership and is not a new purchase.
4. Access to our material
Membership gives you a personal, non-transferable right to view the community’s content, including courses, case studies, videos, images, and written material, for your own professional development, for as long as your membership is active. The material is not downloadable and is protected by technical measures. You agree not to interfere with those measures or to obtain or retain copies of the material by any other means. Account sharing is not permitted. When your membership ends, your right of access ends, and material accessed during it may not be retained, stored, or used in any form.Certificates for courses you have completed remain yours, and you should download them before your membership ends.
What you learn here is yours to use in your own practice, teaching, and writing, and we expect it to travel that way. Where you quote, paraphrase, or rely on our material, cite it as you would any source, naming the author, the title, and the International Interspecies Studies Community. The material itself may not be copied, republished, redistributed, or reproduced in any form, adapted or otherwise, as part of a separate resource, course, publication, or product unless by strict written authorization from the author.
5. Confidentiality
The same restriction applies to conversations between members, including group discussions and private messages. What is shared inside the community stays inside the community. This protects the people and the animals discussed in case studies and conversations, some of whom may be identifiable. Breaking this rule can expose you to legal action, including for breach of confidentiality, breach of contract, misuse of intellectual property, or violation of another member’s privacy or rights, independently of your removal from the community.
Ownership of material a member creates and shares within the community remains with that member. Ownership of material we produce remains with us. This section continues to apply after your membership ends.
6. Member-submitted content and personal information
Members who choose to publish case studies, share personal details, or post any other content within the community do so on their own responsibility. We do not verify, endorse, or assume liability for information members share about themselves, their clients, or the animals in their care. We strongly recommend avoiding personal information that could identify you, your clients, or any third party. Any consequence arising from a member’s decision to share such information is that member’s own responsibility.
7. Spaces and group-specific rules
Each Space, meaning a study group or thematic area, may have its own rules and organizational guidelines pinned at the top of that Space. These cover conduct and practical organization, such as how cases are presented, how discussions are structured, and how sessions are scheduled. Members are expected to read and follow the rules of each Space they take part in. These rules complement the code of conduct below and, where they set a higher standard within a Space, take precedence there.
8. Code of conduct
This community exists to be a safe, non-judgmental space for people studying interspecies communication and animal behavior, where difficult questions can be raised without being measured against someone else’s certainty. That purpose sets the standard for how members treat each other.
Respect for the welfare and well-being of any living being is a foundational pillar of this community. Any content, discussion, or reported practice involving mistreatment, abuse, or neglect of an animal will be addressed and may result in immediate removal. This applies regardless of the method, tradition, or framework invoked to justify it.
The community does not endorse any specific method, tool, technique, or procedure. Materials and discussions are presented for educational and professional development purposes. The inclusion of any approach within the community does not constitute a recommendation, and members are expected to evaluate all practices against scientific knowledge and animal welfare standards.
Self-promotion and advertising of services are not permitted. The community exists for the study and exchange of ideas among members, and content whose primary aim is to promote a business, product, method, or paid service will be removed, regardless of the poster’s credentials or the framing used to present it. Members may reference their professional background where it gives relevant context for a question or case, provided it stays incidental to the discussion.
Treat every member with respect. Disagreement and honest, critical discussion are part of serious study and are welcome. Judgment, mockery, and dismissiveness toward another member’s questions, work, or level of experience are not, even when framed as feedback. Members will be at different points in their training and study, and the community’s value depends on everyone feeling safe enough to ask, disagree, and be wrong out loud.
Harassment, personal attacks, and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated. Members are expected to extend the same care to the animals discussed in case studies and conversations, including in how their welfare and behavior are described.
If you experience or witness a problem, report it to us directly instead of addressing it publicly inside the community.
9. Use of AI and authorship of contributions
You may use translation software, spelling and grammar tools, and similar language assistance when writing anything you post.
You remain responsible for everything published under your name, regardless of which tools were used to produce it. By posting, you confirm that anything you present as your own case, observation, client, animal, result, or source is real and described accurately. You must not fabricate cases, data, results, or references, and you must not present machine-generated material as your own professional observation, counterargumentation, or casework.
Material shared inside the community by other members must not be entered into external AI tools or services. Doing so places another member’s material outside the community and beyond our control, and may involve third-party personal data.
Case studies, courses, research summaries, encyclopedia entries, and other material produced by us are written by our team and remain our intellectual property. They may not be used to train, fine-tune, or otherwise develop AI systems.
10. Investigations and removal
We may look into any report or reasonable concern about a member’s conduct. Where a member faces a serious accusation that could lead to removal, they will be told what they are accused of and given the opportunity to respond before a final decision is made. That response may take the form of a video call with us, so the member can give their account directly rather than only in writing.
11. Termination for breach
We may suspend a membership immediately where a member appears to have breached these Terms or the code of conduct, and end it after following the process described under Investigations and removal. Grounds include misrepresenting information during the application process, downloading or copying content, sharing content or private conversations outside the community, and conduct that puts other members, the community, or the animals discussed within it at risk. Evidence that a member has abused or mistreated an animal is grounds for removal, and where applicable, we may report it to the relevant authorities and take legal action. This community exists for honest discussion of mistakes and difficult cases, and that discussion will never be treated as grounds for removal, while deliberate or repeated harm to an animal will be. When a membership ends for any of these reasons, no refund is given for the fee already paid or for any remaining part of the term.
12. Courses and certification
Courses offered within the community bear the seal of the European Association for Higher Education Advancement (EAHEA), indicating that their structure meets an external quality standard. This seal does not constitute formal academic accreditation. Whether and how a certificate is recognized remains at the discretion of each receiving institution, employer, or professional body, and we make no representation as to the transferability or equivalence of any certificate issued through the community.
13. Educational purpose and liability
The community exists to support study, discussion, and professional development in applied ethology, anthrozoology, and behavior modification. The material shared within it is educational and general in nature. It is not individualized behavioral, veterinary, or professional advice for any specific animal, and applying it to a real situation remains the member’s own professional judgment and responsibility. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for decisions a member makes in their own practice on the basis of material or discussion encountered inside the community.
14. Data protection
Personal data collected in connection with membership is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which you confirmed you had read before your first conversation with us.
15. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by Danish law. If you are a consumer, this choice does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory rules of the country where you live, and you may bring a claim either in the Danish courts or in the courts of your own country. Any other dispute that cannot be resolved directly with us falls under the jurisdiction of the Danish courts.
Before going to court, consumers may bring a complaint to Mæglingsteamet for Forbrugerklager, Nævnenes Hus, Toldboden 2, 8800 Viborg, Denmark. If you live in another EU or EEA country, the European Consumer Center in your country can also help with a cross-border complaint.
16. Changes
We may modify, update, or discontinue any content, course, Space, or feature of the community at any time. We may also update these Terms as the community develops. Where a change materially affects your membership, we will let members know in advance, and you may cancel your membership if you do not accept it. Continuing your membership after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.
17. Severability
If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
18. Your agreement
By completing payment, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms and to the code of conduct, that you are entering this membership on your own behalf, and that the information you have given us is accurate.
