WSSC Conduct Liaison Officer: Ms Julie Frost
WSSC – Code of Conduct
This code of conduct has been developed to set out the Welsh Springer Spaniel Club’s (WSSC) expectations for all those taking part in or attending events under its jurisdiction, along with general guidelines on the use of social media, and are aligned to the Kennel Club Code of Conduct.
The WSSC expects all exhibitors, competitors and those attending events arranged by the Club to conduct themselves in a responsible manner, behave in a polite and courteous manner to others and ensure their dogs are properly taken care of and do not become a nuisance to other dogs or to other attendees. Abusive or aggressive behaviour towards anyone at a Club event will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Any breach of these provisions may ultimately be referred for disciplinary action in line with the WSSC’s rules.
As a society that is registered with The Kennel Club the WSSC adopts a zero tolerance approach towards all types of harassment activity. No-one should be subject to intimidation or made to feel alarmed or distressed, or put in fear of reprisal. Harassment may be defined as causing alarm, distress and anxiety, and fear of physical violence or other threat, offensive language, statements, verbal abuse and threats. Conduct may include obstruction, language, speech, behaviour and so on. As such conduct may involve a criminal offence, the police may be involved and the matter referred to the Kennel Club, who may defer any action pending the outcome of such investigation and/or prosecution.
If you feel you have been made the subject of such behaviour at a Club event please report to the matter to the Secretary/Chairman of the WSSC as soon as possible and you will be offered support and guidance.
The Club takes such matters seriously and, following investigation, reserves the right to send, in the first instance a warning of conduct letter to the perpetrator. The perpetrator will have the right of reply to the WSSC addressing all correspondence to the Club Secretary before any further action is taken by the Club. Other action may include a censure of attendance to all Club events for a stated period of time and finally engaging Club Rule no.16 Expulsion of Members if deemed necessary.
Social Media
The Kennel Club has produced clear advice and guidance to help people avoid potential issues when using social media. They provide some examples of best practice with the aim of helping people understand the implications of participation in social media from a wide range of perspectives.
The WSSC expects members using social media to be respectful and courteous. Comments on the Club’s Facebook page or other social media and messaging sites that use obscenities, personal insults, ethnic slurs or other disparaging language will be removed and the author may be subject to further censure in line with the Club’s Code of Conduct.
This policy was last modified on 19/01/2023
