Community Guidelines
The VetHelpDirect forum and blog provide an opportunity for users to ask questions and interact with the wider community of pet owners. This should be an environment where everyone is treated with respect and is free from discrimination or prejudice.
Our moderators are trained vets, who are here to provide impartial advice. We reserve the right to remove any post that contravenes our policies.
By registering, you agree that you are over 18 years old and will adhere to the following;
1. Always treat moderators and contributors with respect
Use of foul and abusive language will not be tolerated. Posts containing any offensive material, including pornographic content, will be removed and the user may be excluded.
2. The forum is not an alternative to visiting your vet
We always aim to respond to questions within 48 hours. But if you have a serious emergency, always contact your vet first. Our vets are here to advise and inform, but your pet’s wellbeing is always our priority – so don’t delay a call to your practice.
3. Avoid offering a diagnosis
We want the community to be comfortable posting and interacting, but we also want to avoid any misdiagnosis. If we believe comments may be misleading, they will be removed.
4. Not a platform for promotion or spam
It’s important that your questions are answered and our users can find the information they are looking for. Promotion of products or services not related to a query will be removed. For this reason, URLs will also be removed.
5. Do not suggest medicines
Without understanding the medical history and background of an animal, it’s important not to suggest specific medicines. This is for your protection and theirs. Promotion or facilitation of the use of prescription, off license, or human medicines in an animal without veterinary prescription is a criminal offence under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 (as amended)
6. Absolutely no hate speech
We respect free speech, but will not allow hateful comments. Any comments deemed to be offensive to other users will be removed
7. Use of your questions
If your query may have wider benefits, we reserve the right to use this on our blog or other platforms. We will seek permission wherever possible and remove any personally identifiable information.
8. Be kind
VetHelpDirect is here to provide a platform for visitors to get the information they need to support the wellbeing of their pet. We want you to post freely and for everyone to enjoy their experience.
9. No illegal content
Content will be removed and, if appropriate, if it appears to contain any of the 17 forms of Priority Illegal Content, as laid out in the Online Safety Act 2024:
- Terrorism
- Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA)
- Hate
- Harassment, stalking, threats and abuse offences
- Controlling or coercive behaviour
- Intimate image abuse
- Extreme pornography offence
- Sexual exploitation of adults
- Human trafficking
- Unlawful immigration
- Fraud and financial services offences
- Proceeds of crime
- Drugs and psychoactive substances
- Firearms, knives and other weapons
- Encouraging or assisting suicide (or attempted suicide)
- Foreign interference offence
- Animal cruelty
The amount of time any such content is present on our services is minimised by manual review of all posts by our veterinary team in real time, and a regular “sweep review” of all Reports, Topics and Replies.
If you believe any content is posted including spam or undesirable content, please use the Report button to report it to the moderators.
If you believe that there is any content that meets the above 17 categories (especially around terrorism, child sexual abuse, or sale of illegal items), please email content@vethelpdirect.com including the web address of the specific post and we will respond as rapidly as possible.
Complaints and Reports
If you wish to make a complaint, or if you believe that your content has been removed from the Forum without due cause, please email content@vethelpdirect.com and we will review the decision.