1) Membership
a) Full Membership: open to keepers of registered Zwartbles Sheep; allows receipt of correspondence and one vote per Membership.
b) Associate Membership: open to non-keepers of registered Zwartbles Sheep; allows receipt of correspondence and no entitlement to voting.
c) Subscriptions are due annually on 1st January.
d) Standing Order forms are obtainable from the Secretary.
2) Flock Name/Ram Name
a) Members may register a Flock Name that will appear on the Pedigree Certificate of all lambs subsequently registered as being bred by that Member.
b) Registration of a Flock Name is conditional upon:
i) Payment of the Flock Registration Fee
ii) The name not being already registered by another ZSA Member and acceptable by Council.
c) i) Naming of Males is Compulsory
ii) Rams can only be given a name if there is a Flock Name registered with the Society
iii) Rams can only have the Flock name of the “Breeding” Flock.
iv) Pedigree Certificates will not be changed retrospectively i.e. the Ram name will only appear on Pedigree Certificates printed after the date of naming.
v) A ram name, which cannot consist of more than 30 characters including the Flock name, must start with the Year Letter.
vi) Ram names cannot be used more than once within a Flock.
vii) Ram names will not be issued by the Society if thought to be inappropriate.
3) Conditions of Entry into the Flock Book
a) Only sheep from fully registered Zwartbles parents are eligible for registration.
b) All applications for registration must include two generations of registered parents (where possible), Date of Birth and Mode (i.e. single/twin/triplet – 1/2/3/)
c) Imported sheep must be registered with the ZSA for their progeny to be eligible for registration.
d) A ‘Ram Service Certificate’ should be forwarded with the registration application where AI or ‘other ownership’ ram has been used. This can be obtained from the Secretary.
4) Members’ Flock Number & Sheep Identification
a) Upon acceptance into the Association every Member must contact their regional government office for the issue of a national flock number.
b) Flocks will also be issued with a ZSA number, e.g. 01, 02, 03, etc. by the Association.
c) The Association requires registered sheep, born after 1st January, 2005 to be tagged with a Year Letter, Individual unique Number and Association Flock Number. The Association will not recognise animals born after 1st January 2005 not so identified.
All sheep must be tagged before an application is made for registration.
Members should check with DEFRA, or their equivalent Government organisation, that they also comply with current government tagging regulations.
The annual year letter is: 2008=P, 2009=R, 2010=S, 2011=T, 2012 = W, 2013 = A, 2014 = B etc.
d) Tags may be purchased from Members’ choice of supplier.
e) All sheep to be tagged with EID in the left ear (as viewed from behind) and second tag in right ear in accordance with
Government legislation.
f) In the event of any sheep losing its tag it must be re-tagged with the original number.
5) Registration
a) Only fully paid-up members will be allowed to register sheep; this should be the breeder or importer. Lambs must be born after 1st January.
b) All pure-bred lambs born in the season must be registered with the Association by 6 months of age. After this date double registration fees apply.
c) Sheep must be registered before the end of their shearling year, registration after this is not permissible.
e) Upon purchase, all new owners should transfer the sheep into their ownership by post, with the appropriate fee.
f) Sheep purchased at Official Sales will be transferred automatically.
6) Lambs not Suitable for Registration
Lambs should not be submitted for registration under the following circumstances:-
a) Abnormalities including but not restricted to:
i) Over/Under shot jaws
ii) Twisted feet
iii) Twisted tails
iv) Poor conformation
v) Blindness, blue, china or wall eyes, either total or partial.
vi) Arrow tipped tail (this has appeared in the Dutch
flock and is described as a tail whose end vertebrae appear to have been squashed flat, as if ironed flat)
vii) Sexual defects – i.e. rams without two sufficiently developed testicles apparent in the scrotum.
b) Docked Tail
7) Shearing
a) All adult sheep for showing to be shorn between 1st January and 1st May of the show year.
8) Official ZSA Breed Sales and Shows
a) All sheep forward at Breed Sales must be registered with the ZSA SIX WEEKS PRIOR TO SALE.
b) All sheep forward will be the property of Members of the ZSA. If the governing body of the sale accepts sheep from non-members they shall be sold at the end of the ZSA’s Members’ run in their appropriate ring.
c) Excessive entries at sales: Council reserves the right to govern the number of entries at Breed Sales (by means of reduction based on the percentage of registered stock within the seller’s flock). This will be adequately described in the appropriate Sale Schedule.
d) Substitute entries must be notified no later than 7 days before the sale unless the appropriate Sale Schedule gives a different time limit.
e) All entries to be made available for inspection at the sale: sheep which, in the opinion of the Breed Inspectors, fail to meet the breed standards for characteristics and conformation or are unhealthy or injured will be excluded from the sale. No refund of entry fees will be made for sheep excluded from the Sale. Sheep which have been excluded shall be returned to their transport forthwith and not further exhibited for sale.
f) Council may set minimum reserve (upset) prices for sale entries.
g) At the Championship line-ups the sheep that were placed second to the Champions in their classes may be brought forward when judging of the Reserve Champion takes place.
h) Should the Champion in any class not meet its reserve and therefore not be sold it will not be permitted to enter the show classes at other Official Breed Sales in the same calendar year if shown by the same vendor.
i) Only rosettes awarded at the relevant sale can be on display.
j) Rams and Ram Lambs:
All rams, including ram lambs, are warranted by the seller to be capable of natural and effective service within 100 days of the Sale. If at the expiration of the warranty period a ram is proven incapable of natural and effective service and within 14 days of the expiration of the warranty period a Veterinary Certificate is lodged with the Official Auctioneers confirming:
i) The ram is incapable of performing a natural effective service;
and
ii) The Veterinary Surgeon has inspected the Purchaser’s ewes and found them to be in normal, responsible breeding condition; then the Purchaser may return the animal to the Seller and be fully reimbursed.
k) In-Lamb Ewe Sales:
All rams specified as being the ‘sire of’ or ‘having run with the ewe’ must be registered with the ZSA in order for the progeny to be registered. Ewes running with unregistered rams shall be excluded from the sale.
l) “Trotting up prices” is not permitted, members risk removal if found to be doing this
m) Showing sheep not for sale is not permitted – realistic reserve prices must be set.
n) Any interference with natural tooth growth is not permitted.
o) Any attempt to lessen, conceal, or obscure white in the fleece is not permitted.
9) Shows and Sales
a) Trimming is freestyle but the use of artificial colouring, paint, sprays, chalk, etc. are not permitted and any attempt to conceal or obscure white in the fleece is not permitted.
b) Any members attempting to produce a more permanent change to the appearance of a sheep may be barred from Membership of the Association.
c) Members exhibiting at shows must obey the rules of the Show Society and ZSA Rules.
10) Imported Sheep
a) Any sheep which has been imported must be notified to the Secretary within three months. Its original pedigree certificate accompanied by the relevant payment for registration with the ZSA (see Fees) should be sent to the Secretary as soon as possible. Offspring will not be able to be registered unless the parents are registered with the ZSA
b) A photocopy of the ram registration certificate must accompany requests for registration of progeny from imported in-lamb ewes.
c) Imported sheep shall carry the prefix IM on their pedigree certificates.
d) Parents of imported sheep which remain in their country of origin shall carry letters appropriate to that country on the UK pedigree certificate of their progeny, e.g. Holland -NL, Belgium -BM for registrations from 2000 onwards as retrospective change is very difficult to administer.
11) Scale of Charges
At a Council meeting held during the last quarter of each calendar year the Scale of Charges to be used by the Association for the following year will be determined. This Scale of Charges will appear in the appropriate section of the Year Book following their Annual Review.
Annual Fees:
First Year Membership fee £65.00 (includes £10 joining fee and £10 flock name registration)
Annual Membership fee £45.00 pa if paid by cheque £40.00 pa if paid by standing
order.
Associate Membership is £20.
Flock Name Registration Registrations:
Females £7.00 each – (this fee increases to £17 after six months old)
Males £25.00 each – (this fee increases to £35 after six months old)
On-Line Registrations:
Females £5.00 each
Males £25.00 each
ALL LATE FEES APPLY TO ON-LINE REGISTRATIONS
Imported sheep: Ewes & Rams £20.00 each
Transfer Fee £7 each (payable by purchaser)
Re-issue of Certificate £2.00 each
These fees are subject to Annual Review.
12) Entitlement to Membership
Any Member who fails to comply with the Rules of the Association or, in the opinion of Council, acts in a manner that is detrimental to the standing of the Association shall at the discretion of Council be barred from Membership of the Association