animal behaviourist
Animal behaviourists work with animals and people to study, observe, assess and understand animal behaviour in relation to specific factors and to prevent or address inappropriate or problematic behaviours within individual animals through the development of suitable environments and management regimes, in accordance with national legislation.
animal behaviourist animal behaviourists work with animals and people to study, observe, assess and understand animal behaviour in relation to specific factors and to prevent or address inappropriate or problematic behaviours within individual animals through the development of s. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include biosecurity related to animals, signs of animal illness, neuroanatomy of animals, animal evolution, animal welfare legislation.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £45,382 a year for Biological scientists (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2112). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only animal behaviourist, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Frequently asked questions
What does animal behaviourist do?
Animal behaviourists work with animals and people to study, observe, assess and understand animal behaviour in relation to specific factors and to prevent or address inappropriate or problematic behaviours within individual animals through the development of suitable environments and management regimes, in accordance with national legislation.
What skills does animal behaviourist need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include biosecurity related to animals, signs of animal illness, neuroanatomy of animals, animal evolution, animal welfare legislation, animal welfare. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace animal behaviourist?
Our AI-durability model gives animal behaviourist a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.