Club Information | Rules & Code of Ethics

RULES & CODE OF ETHICS

The Club Rules

1. NAME

The club shall be called the SEALYHAM TERRIER CLUB.

2. OBJECTS

To promote the breeding of pure Sealyham Terriers.
To adopt and publish the description of type and standard points as herein stated, and urge the adoption of this type on Breeders, Judges, Dog Show Committees etc. As only recognised standard by which may in future, be uniformly accepted as the sole standard of excellence on the breeding, and in awarding prizes of merit to the Sealyham Terriers.
To do all in it's power protect and advance the interests of the breed by offering prizes, supporting certain shows, and taking any other steps that may be deemed available.

3. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE

The club shall consist of a President, one or more Vice-Presidents, a Chairman, an Honorary Secretary and Treasurer and a Committee of up to twelve persons and an unlimited number of members.

4. COMMITTEE

The management of the club shall be in the hands of the following officers of the club: Patron, President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary (who will act as Treasurer) and a committee consisting up to twelve members, third of whom shall retire annually. Officers shall retire shall be eligible for re-election every three years.

President and Vice-President shall be elected by committee who will retire annually but is eligible for re-election without nomination. The President may attend any committee meetings and have the right to vote.

Members of the committee shall be eligible for re-election every three years.

The following officers and committee shall have full voting rights at committee and general meetings.

Meetings of the committee shall be held as often as deemed necessary.

A Quorum for committee meetings shall be four.

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt members on to the committee in the event of positions becoming vacant between general meetings.

Those co-opted shall only hold office until the next general meeting of the club at which an election of officers and committee takes place.

No individual who has been a member for less than two years may be elected on to the committee.

5. ELECTION OF MEMBERS

Candidates for membership shall be proposed by one existing fully paid up member, seconded by another.The committee shall approve membership applications unless objected by one negative in three.

The Committee may at their discretion admit as Honorary members any persons whose services to the Club and the Breed generally are well recognised and ratified by the Annual General Meeting.

6. MEMBER LIST

An up to date list of members and their addresses, and those of branch members where appropriate, must be maintained and, if so requested, the list of names made available for inspection by the Kennel Club and members of the society. A declaration of the number of members of the club must be made with annual returns.

7. VOTING RIGHTS

Each member shall be entitled to one vote immediately upon acceptance of membership. Joint memberships shall be one vote for each member of the partnership. Voting shall be decided by majority at meeting.

8. CLUB PROPERTY

The property of the club shall be vested in the committee. In the event of the society ceasing to exist, a final general meeting shall be called to decide the disposal of the club’s assets and the outcome of the meeting notified to the Kennel Club.

(If a registered club is wound up or ceases to be a registered society under KC Regulations, a final statement of accounts with a record of the disposal of the property of the club shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club within six months and the persons named as officers and committee of the club will be held responsible by the Kennel Club for the proper winding up of the club.)

9. CLUB ACCOUNTS

A banking account shall be held in the name of the club at Barclays into which all revenue of the club shall be paid and from which withdrawal shall only be made on the signatures of treasurer and the Chairman.

The treasurer shall prepare each year a balance sheet and income and expenditure account, which shall be audited by the club's auditor and will be presented to the members at the Annual General Meeting.

The committee shall appoint a qualified accountant as auditor.

10. SUBSCRIPTION

The Annual Subscription for membership is payable on the 1st January of each year and shall be such amount as agreed by members in general meeting and notified to the Kennel Club.

No member whose subscription is unpaid is entitled to any of the privileges of membership and if the member shall fail to pay outstanding subscriptions by the 31st December of the same calendar year when the subscription first became due his/her name shall be automatically erased from the register. Acceptance back on the register will be dependent upon a new application and payment of arrears.

11. EXPULSION OF MEMBERS

Any member who shall be disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A11.j.(5) and/or Kennel Club Rule A11.j.(9) shall ipso facto cease to be a member of the club.

If the conduct of any member shall, in the opinion of the committee of the club, be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interests of the club, the committee of the club may, at a meeting the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the member, determine that a Special General Meeting of the society shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her.

Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused member, giving particulars of the complaint and advising the place, date and hour of the meeting that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If at the meeting, a resolution to expel is passed by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, his/her name shall forthwith be erased from the list of members, and he/she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a member of the club except that he/she may, within two calendar months from the date of such meeting, appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such condition as the Kennel Club may impose.

12. FINANCIAL YEAR/ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The financial year of the club shall be from the 1st January to 31st December and The Annual General Meeting shall be held in the month of April.

12a. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

The business conducted at General Annual Meeting shall be to receive the report of the committee and balance sheet, to elect officers and committee and to discuss any resolution duly placed on the agenda of which prior notice has been given to the secretary. No business shall be transacted at an Annual General Meeting unless notice thereof appears on the agenda, with the exception of routine matters or those which in the opinion of chairman of the meeting are urgent.

The agenda will be circulated on the club website and the minutes will be circulated at the meeting.

Items for inclusion on the agenda are required by the secretary at least 21 days before the proposed meeting.

Any proposals including nominations for officers are required in writing to be received at least 21 days before the Annual General Meeting. All items for inclusion on the Agenda must bear proposer's and seconder's names in writing.

A Quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be 4 fully paid-up members.

13. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING (SGM)

A Special General Meeting shall be summoned by the secretary if ten members and endorsed by the Chairman send a signed requisition stating the subject to be discussed and voted upon and requesting a Special General Meeting to do so. The committee of the society is also empowered to call a Special General Meeting. No business other than that detailed on the agenda can be discussed at a Special General Meeting.

14.AMENDMENTS TO RULES

The rules of the club may not be altered except at a general meeting, the notice for which contains specific proposals to amend the rules, any proposed alteration to the rules may not be brought into effect until the Kennel Club has been advised and approved the alteration. New rules or amendments introduced specifically to meet Kennel Club requirements shall be adopted immediately.

15. ANNUAL RETURNS TO THE KENNEL CLUB

The officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year, the maintenance of title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the secretary for continuance of registration and that by 31st July each year, other returns, as stipulated in Kennel Club Regulations for the registration and maintenance of title of societies / breed councils and the affiliation of agricultural societies and municipal authorities shall be forwarded to the Kennel Club.

The officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any change of secretary of the club which may occur during the course of the year.

16. KENNEL CLUB FINAL AUTHORITY

The Kennel Club is the final authority for interpreting the rules of the society in all cases relative to canine or society matters.

17.

The club shall not join any federation of societies or clubs.

18.

No person whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the committee of or hold any other office or appointment within a Kennel Club registered society.

19. JUDGES LISTS

The committee of the club will produce a list of Judges each year, which will be submitted to the Kennel Club as part of the club's annual returns.

The purpose of the Lists is to indicate to interested parties those persons the club would support at differing levels of judging. Membership of the club is not a pre-requisite for inclusion on the lists.

The club's judging lists will be divided into five parts i.e. A1, A2, A3, B and C. The officers and committee be empowered to draw up on an annual basis the judging lists using the relevant criteria approved by the committee and updated from time to time in accordance with mandatory Kennel Club requirements. The criteria will be published with the judges lists on the club website .

Club Code of Ethics

All members of the Sealyham Terrier Club undertake to abide by its general Code of Ethics.

Will properly house, feed, water and exercise all dogs under their care and arrange for appropriate veterinary attention if and when required.
Will agree without reservation that any veterinary surgeon who performs an operation on any of their dogs which alters the natural conformation of the animal, or who carries out a caesarean section on a bitch, may report such operations to The Kennel Club.
Will agree that no healthy puppy will be culled. Puppies which may not conform to the breed standard should be placed in suitable homes.
Will abide by all aspects of the Animal Welfare Act.
Will not create demand for, nor supply, puppies that have been docked illegally.
Will agree not to breed from a dog or bitch which could be in any way harmful to the dog or to the breed.
Will not allow any of their dogs to roam at large or to cause a nuisance to neighbours or those carrying out official duties.
Will clean up after their dogs in public places or anywhere their dogs are being exhibited.
Will only sell dogs where there is a reasonable expectation of a happy and healthy life and will help with the rehoming of a dog if the initial circumstances change.
Will supply written details of all dietary requirements and give guidance concerning responsible ownership when placing dogs in a new home .
Will ensure that all relevant Kennel Club documents are provided to the new owner when selling or transferring a dog, and will agree, in writing, to forward any relevant documents at the earliest opportunity, if not immediately available.
Will not sell any dog to commercial dog wholesalers, retail pet dealers or directly or indirectly allow dogs to be given as a prize or donation in a competition of any kind. Will not sell by sale or auction Kennel Club registration certificates as stand alone items (not accompanying a dog).
Will not knowingly misrepresent the characteristics of the breed nor falsely advertise dogs nor mislead any person regarding the health or quality of a dog.
Will ensure that all their breeding stock to be DNA tested for Primary Lens Luxation before being bred from.

Breach of these provisions may result in expulsion from club membership, and/or disciplinary action by The Kennel Club and/or reporting to the relevant authorities for legal action, as appropriate.