It was decided that international congresses of the Society will take place every third year. The congresses give an opportunity to present, discuss and evaluate new scientific knowledge in animal hygiene regarding the influence of various environmental factors on animal health, behaviour and productivity.
Members of the newly elected Boards prepared a preliminary statute proposal which was discussed at working sessions in Yugoslavia in September 1971 and in Hungary in April 1972. The program of the first Congress was also agreed upon at these sessions.
The first Congress of the International Society for Animal Hygiene was held in Budapest, Hungary in 1973. The following Congresses were organized in Zagreb (Yugoslavia, 1976), Vienna (Austria, 1980), Štrbské Pleso (Czechoslovakia, 1982), Hannover (Germany, 1985), Skara (Sweden, 1988), Leipzig (Germany, 1991), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA (1994), Helsinki (Finland in 1997), Maastricht (The Netherlands in 2000) and in Mexico City (Mexico 2003). Proceedings were published for each of the congresses.