Society Rules
Rules of the Southdown Sheep Society
1. Membership of the Southdown Sheep Society means that all Southdown sheep retained and used for breeding must be individually registered in the Flock Book, and that all subscriptions and registration fees must be paid.
2. All new members will be assigned a registered flock number which may be used on the ear tag. In addition, the ear tag should bear the year of birth and the individual identification number of the sheep. Current DEFRA rules and legislation regarding ear tags must be complied with.
3. New members select a prefix for their Southdown flock, provided that the name has not been used by a member previously.
4. The Council decides the rate of annual subscription, which from January 1st 2011 is £35 per annum, payable in advance on January 1st.
5. All ram lambs and ewe lambs retained for breeding must be registered in the Flock Book by November 30th (final deadline December 31st) in the year of their birth. The fee for registration is set by Council and reviewed regularly.
6. Late registrations are permitted to be made by breeders after December 31st of the year of birth. The cost of late registrations is £20 per animal.
7. No Southdown sheep can be individually registered in the flock Book unless both the sire and dam are individually registered. Proof of this must be provided at registration (by including the individual flock number of sire and dam).
8. All entries of sheep must be made upon correct forms available from the Southdown Office. Owners/breeders must give all information as required on such forms, incomplete entries may not be accepted.
9. The Flock Book is published annually by the Southdown Sheep Society. A copy is sent to all members whose subscription is up to date. Additional copies may be purchased from the Southdown Office @ £5.
10. Resignation from the Society should be made to the Secretary in writing/by email.
11. No headage charges are payable to the Society by members except in the case of the levy deducted by auctioneers at official sales, and the export levy.
12. All sheep sold for export must have an Export Pedigree Certificate. The Export Certificate must be obtained from the Office, at a cost of £10 per animal. The sum of 5p in every pound of the sale price shall be paid to the Society within six months of the export sale.
13. Any animal entered in a show must be owned by the exhibitor for a minimum of 4 months prior to the date of the show.
14. The Council reserves the right to appoint a member or members of their body to inspect any flock without notice and without giving a reason should they so wish
15. The decision of Council is final in any dispute.
16. All members are deemed to have accepted these rules after having received a copy of them and not making any comment to the Secretary in writing within six months.
Approved by Council 14-10-2015
