Understanding and improving animal welfare has been a focus for applied ethologists since the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) was founded 35 years ago. Even though there have been changes in the living conditions for farm and laboratory animals, the rate of progress seems slow. Advances in animal welfare seem to be more likely if the issues are of public concern, if there are economic advantages, and when networks exist to aid in the transfer of information and to organize relationships between commercial and legislative sectors. The development of animal welfare science and animal ethics as academic disciplines has also been a slow process. Applied ethologists have been leaders in this pursuit. The subjective experiences of animals have been the focus of both applied and fundamental research. The advancement of animal welfare science needs to be a collaborative approach. However, the advancement of animal welfare science needs to go beyond the applied ethologists and become more of a collaborative approach. The ISAE is composed of experts in animal behaviour. Members of the society provide advice on animal welfare issues for policy makers, retailers, commodity groups, etc. The membership of the ISAE is expanding and becoming more diverse, which provides great opportunities for more influence on animal welfare issues. One of the society’s goals should be to increase its profile and develop materials and regionally based pools of experts that are more available to those in need. The development of scientific reports that have international input could also aid in debates about animal welfare. Members of the ISAE are likely to continue contributing to animal welfare science research.