Structure, Governance and Management
Donkey Breed Society Rules
All Members of the Donkey Breed Society are bound by its Rules and those of its Committees, as amended from time to time, and shall be deemed to have consented to these Rules having paid the appropriate membership fee for the current year.
- No Member of the Donkey Breed Society shall conduct themselves in a manner or be guilty of behaviour which is derogatory to the character or prejudicial to the interests of the Society and in particular (but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) no Member shall behave in an offensive, abusive or unpleasant manner to any person involved in the business of the Donkey Breed Society, whether at a physical location for a meeting, a demonstration of a donkey’s skills, at a show; or through any form of social media, internet website or in any publication in whatever format.
- It is the duty of every Member to assist the officers of the Donkey Breed Society in their investigations of breaches of the Rules and an unreasonable failure or refusal to assist in such investigation will itself constitute a breach of the Rules.
- Members shall not ill-treat donkeys at any time whether by misuse or neglect of their needs.
- Members of the Donkey Breed Society are responsible for the actions of those persons representing, assisting or supporting them, or otherwise acting on their behalf at events supported by the Society.
Other rules also apply to the conduct of our members. Specific rules apply to Showing, the National Show and Stud Book.
Generally, we expect members to act in the best interests of the Society when carrying out activities relating to Society business, and as such not to bring the Society into disrepute. If you have any particular queries in regard to our rules, as they relate to your membership of the Society, then at the first instance please contact the Society Secretary.
Donkey Breed Society Complaints Procedure
The Donkey Breed Society has a Complaints Procedure whereby the Society has powers to discipline Members in the event of failure to correctly observe any Rules and Regulations made by the Donkey Breed Society. The Rules are intended to ensure that Members enjoy membership and its benefits in the fairest possible manner.
All complaints must be made personally and in writing by the member concerned.
Malicious complaints made solely with the intent of discrediting another member will not be accepted.
Letters of Complaint, except for those relating to awards at the National Show, must be sent to the Society Secretary by RECORDED DELIVERY. The matter will then be dealt with as follows:
- Where a complaint concerns the public behaviour of one member towards another which could bring the Donkey Breed Society into disrepute, it must be made in writing within 14 days of the incident, with supporting evidence in writing from two unrelated sources.
- A complaint concerning conduct of exhibitors at affiliated shows must be made in writing within fourteen days of the show in question and will be investigated by the Chairman of the Shows and Judges Committee and the Vice Chairman of the Donkey Breed Society or where there may be a conflict of interests an appointed member of Council.
- A complaint concerning Stud Book Registrations and procedures must be supported by relevant documentary evidence and will be investigated by the Chairman of the Stud Book Committee and the Vice Chairman of the Society or where there may be a conflict of interests an appointed member of Council. Any Appeal must be made within the timescale prescribed in the operational Stud Book Rules and will be dealt with in the manner prescribed for Appeals.
National Show
Any complaint concerning matters relating to the judging at the National Show must be made in writing within one hour of the class in contention and supported by a deposit of £20. The complaint will be investigated immediately by the Honorary National Show Secretary, the Honorary Chief Steward and the Show Director and if appropriate the Chief Driving Steward. The Judge’s steward may be called as witness.
Welfare
Matters relating to welfare or perceived neglect of donkeys can be referred confidentially to the Donkey Breed Society Donkey Watch Scheme via a dedicated email on www.donkeybreedsociety.co.uk where the information will be passed to an appropriate Welfare Agency for action.
Privacy Notice 2018 – please download this link: General Member Privacy Notice 1.0 20180516
Anti-bullying policy 2018 – please download this link: Anti Bullying Policy 5.2018
British Horse Society incident reporting
If you experience injury, threat or discomfort, please report to the BHS via their Horse i app
