Code of Conduct

Camp Feral! is designed to be a fun and relaxing event for everyone – a five-day vacation from the hustle and bustle of your civilized life. However, as easy as it is to forget about the rest of the world in such a secluded place as this, remember that you are still in Canada, and still obligated to obey the law! Therefore, to ensure the safety of campers and park staff, protect the pristine nature of Algonquin Provincial Park and Camp Arowhon, and guarantee that Feral! continues to be invited back to this wonderful place for many years to come, we ask that all campers please read and abide by the Feral! Code of Conduct below :3

The Law

• Campers must abide by all federal, provincial and local laws.
• Common Sense. Use it! If you haven't got any, or are unsure about whether or not doing something might land you in trouble, ask staff before you do it please! :3 Remember, if it was illegal while you were waiting at Yorkdale Mall to catch the bus, it's still illegal now.

In addition to the laws set down by the various governing bodies of the land, Algonquin Provincial Park and Camp Arowhon have their own policies in place that they ask us to follow:

Wildlife

• The Arowhon grounds and surrounding forest are home to a vast array of wildlife, like raccoons, chipmunks, coyotes, and foxes. Campers are asked to observe the following rules regarding wildlife:
• Do not leave food out where it may attract wild animals.
• Do not approach the wildlife or coax it to approach you. Think RABIES – Leave ‘em alone.
• Do not try to feed the wildlife. They can find food well enough themselves, thank you very much!
• Do take pictures and admire Algonquin's wild beauty (from a safe distance, please).

If you're curious as to why any of these these rules exist, try asking a Camp Arowhon staffer. They're very nature-oriented and well-educated; heck, ecological responsibility is the sort of thing they teach their campers the rest of the year when we're not around!

Alcohol

• ...is permitted, but only in reusable, non-disposable containers. Glass bottles and aluminum cans are not permitted. Plastic pop bottles, Nalgene bottles, canteens, flasks - these are all good containers. Glass bottles may smash…animals may get hurt…we don’t want that! We’re furries!
• Be responsible! A number of the great activities open to you at Feral! DO NOT MIX WELL with alcohol: Rock climbing, archery, kayaking/canoeing, and especially swimming whilst intoxicated could land you in a heap of trouble, a hospital, or worse – and although Arowhon has a competent medically-trained staff, the nearest hospital is still several kilometres away. You're here to have a good time, so don't ruin it by doing something stupid!
• Campers who violate the alcohol policy will have their alcohol confiscated until the end of camp. Serious or repeat offenders will be subject to expulsion from Feral! and will be escorted off Arowhon property.

Smoke & Fire

• Smoking is allowed in designated areas only, specifically the side entrance porch of the Main Lodge.
• Please dispose of ashes and butts in the receptacles provided. This is for safety as well as courtesy; it would suck to accidentally burn Arowhon down. Protect the camp!
• To that effect, NO FIRES! There will be scheduled and probably unscheduled campfires, but unless you are a staff member or have received very specific permission from one, you should not be lighting them. If you want to start and supervise a campfire in one of the campfire circles for whatever purpose, ask a staff member as far in advance as you can, to give us time to clear with Arowhon staff and make the proper safety preparations.

Orderly Conduct

• Please maintain a level of noise appropriate to the time and place. There are people who LIVE on the Arowhon grounds. They are in the nice houses. Please be respectfully quiet when walking by (for example, no overenthusiastic renditions of your favourite drinking song / pirate shanty / Sparklehorse tune while walking back to your cabin at 1:00am please).
• Campers should cooperate fully with Feral! staff and Arowhon personnel. They are protecting you and the future of Camp Feral!, and they are probably already totally stressed out from running around like crazy all camp and the two months before it, so give 'em a break :3
• Never fight, engage in inappropriate horseplay, or do anything that directly, indirectly, or recklessly causes undue harm or disturbance to any Feral! camp function, camper, staffer, property, et cetera. Your friendly staff has spent a lot of time and effort planning this event for your enjoyment, and your fellow campers have also committed a good deal of time and money, so don't ruin it for anybody else!

Illness and Injuries

• Camp Feral! staff are unique in that they all have very close interaction with campers, and unlike many events can leave having met and socialized with every camper.  Even with this, it’s possible for illness or injuries to go unnoticed, so we ask that all campers bring this to our attention as soon as it happens.
• If you feel sick, please let Feral! staff know immediately.  Do not over-exert yourself, drink plenty of water, and stay out of the sun.
• If you are concerned for your health, let Feral! staff know immediately and have them contact Feral! security.  WE ARE NOT DOCTORS, and cannot diagnose you, but we can try to assess the situation and decide if a trip to Huntsville Hospital is necessary.
• If you are injured, inform Feral! staff immediately.  If it is a cut or scrape, we have first aid supplies.  If it is worse (requires stitches, etc.) we will set up a trip to Huntsville hospital.
• Feral! staff retain the right to enter your cabin and check on you if we have been informed that you are sick or injured.  If your cabinmate is ill or hurt, please err on the side of caution and allow Feral! staff to check the person out
• If someone other than Feral! staff (a partner, a friend, etc.) wishes to drive an injured or ill camper to the hospital, consult with Feral! security first.  They will want to know the situation, ensure you have Camp Arowhon’s number to call once you are in town, have your contact information so we can keep in touch, and also note that you are off site

Weapons

• Absolutely no firearms or realistic replicas thereof are allowed at Camp Arowhon (although waterguns, water balloons, and other water-shooty-thingers are acceptable and even encouraged).
• Campers are allowed to bring their own bows for use at Arowhon's archery range, however: a) They must inform Feral! security staff that they have brought their own bow, b) bows may only be used at the Arowhon archery range, and c) the bow must be kept with the rest of the bows at the Arowhon archery range when not in use.
• Campers should leave other weapons (or anything that can be mistaken for one) at home during camp, whether it’s legal to possess and carry or not. Campers should bring anything that may come into conflict with these rules to the Feral! Security for approval, or for safe-keeping until after camp. Campers must comply if Security revokes this approval at any time for any reason.
• The only weapons expressly permitted at Feral! are folding-blade camping knives and straight sticks without grips.
• Boffer swords will be provided for the Capture the Flag event. Wheee!

Finally, Camp Feral! itself has a few guidelines specifically for the comfort and safety of our unique group:

Media
We believe our campers are better able to relax and enjoy themselves if they are assured that they will not be subjected to public scrutiny. In order to ensure that our campers feel comfortably unmolested by the 'public eye' at Feral! while also allowing them to take home memories of their time here, we enforce the following rules regarding media:

• Absolutely no news media, no matter how informal, will be allowed at Camp Feral!. This includes documentary crews of all kinds, and campers recording for purposes of later public distribution, display, or performance.
• Feral! staff may record events and discussions with campers for the purposes of archival video or promotion of Camp Feral! within the furry fandom. All testimonials will be voluntary and Feral! staff will do their best to ensure that campers who do not wish to be filmed will be edited from the video. Please keep in mind, major events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, predator/prey, or the cabin skits may be filmed.
• It is a YouTube generation…video cameras are now our phones…our still cameras…and even our sunglasses!  If you do not wish to be filmed, please politely ask anyone who is filming that you'd prefer that they avoid you as best they can.  If you are concerned, please let Feral! staff know and we'll do our best to inform the camp that you do not wish to be photographed or filmed…in other words...
• Please respect the wishes of any campers who don’t want to be photographed or videotaped.

If you would not like to appear in a Feral! video, vlog or webisode we may ask to take a photograph of you which will allow us to scan footage to ensure you are not a focal point in any video. We ask that you also try to stay out of the front and centre of any situations where we are trying to film footage.

"PG-13 Con"

• Feral! prides itself on presenting a comfortable atmosphere for anthropomorphic fans of all ages and all walks of life, and campers should act accordingly. This means, if what you're doing is making anybody around you uncomfortable in any way, stop it! Additionally, there may be minors present(though camp Feral! is 19+, Camp Arowhon staffers do have children on camp), and exposing them to certain material or situations can get you – and Camp Feral! for that matter – into serious trouble.
• Inappropriate artwork (including literature, fursuits and plushies) may not be displayed openly at any time, including the Art Trading Post. Designated adult content binders and cleverly-placed post-it notes are acceptable forms of censorship for this material.
• Campers should wear acceptably concealing clothing at all times, unless changing or showering in appropriate locations. We really shouldn't have to be specific about what this means. If what you're wearing is making anybody uncomfortable, put something more appropriate on over it. Please, lets not have any Marilyn Monroe moments!

Public displays of affection are allowed. Honestly, it goes so much without saying that it barely even needs to be declared here. It would be ludicrous of us to try and prohibit them, even if we wanted to! However...

• For the love of Falstaff, please exercise some tact. The word of the week is tact. Everybody knows the reputation the furry community has garnered in the world at large due to the overhyped behaviour of a minority of the fandom population. If you've been in the fandom long, or have ever been to a furry con, you probably know a handful of the people we are talking about. Camp Feral! challenges its campers to continue to defy the furry stereotype and live up to its reputation for putting the 'un'- back in 'conventional'! So please respect your fellow campers' comfort zones, and conversely if you feel that someone is acting inappropriately, feel free to inform a Feral! staff member.

If you're still reading this, good! I know it was a lot, so thanks for sticking with us :3 If you have any questions, please feel free to ask one of your friendly Camp Feral! staffers (we're the ones wearing the nifty STAFF shirts!). To sum everything up, what it all comes down to is this: be safe, be courteous, be respectful, and most of all have fun! We're here to make sure you have a good time, let you enjoy yourselves, and make you want to keep coming back in the future!
Now, get out there and have the time of your frickin' life! ;3