At Camelid Veterinary Services Ltd, trading as The Alpaca Vet, we’re committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This Policy explains when and why we collect personal information, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and what choices you have.
We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our services, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent via one of the contact methods listed on our contact page.
Date: 12th January 2024
Next Review Date: 12th January 2025
Author: Claire E Whitehead
Summary
Here is a summary of our Privacy Information Notice; click on any of the linked headings to view further information.
- Who are we?
We are Camelid Veterinary Services Ltd; you can read about what we do here. - How do we collect information from you?
We obtain information about you via our website, when you contact us to enquire about our services, book a course, place an order in our online shop and more. See Section 2 for the full list. - What information do we collect & how is it used?
We collect information to allow us to fulfil our obligations to our clients, and to respond to business enquiries. A full list of what information we collect can be found in Section 3. - Controlling your information
You have certain rights concerning the information we hold about you, as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation. If you wish to exercise these rights, please contact us. - Use of ‘cookies’
This website uses cookies; by using and browsing the Camelid Veterinary Services website, you consent to cookies being used in accordance with this Policy. If you do not consent, you must turn off cookies or refrain from using the site. - Security
Camelid Veterinary Services takes security seriously. Our internal Data Security Policy details the steps we take to safeguard and secure the information we collect. - Data Breaches
Our Data Security Policy includes a clear process for handling a personal data breach, should one occur. Where appropriate, Camelid Veterinary Services will promptly notify you of any unauthorized access to your personal information. - Complaints
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal information, you can contact us directly and we will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response you can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
1. Who are we?
We are Camelid Veterinary Services Ltd; you can read about what we do here.
Camelid Veterinary Services is a company limited by guarantee; our company details are here. Full contact details can be found on our contact page.
2. How do we collect information from you?
We obtain information about you when:
- you visit our website
- you contact us via our website to enquire about any of our services
- you book and attend one of our courses
- you sign up for our email newsletter
- you leave a comment or review on our news or product pages
- you purchase an item from our store
- you sign up for a shop account on our website
- you provide us with a testimonial
- we receive communication from veterinary professionals involved in the care of your camelid(s)
- you respond to a survey
3. What information do we collect & how is it used?
The table in section 3.3 below outlines exactly what information we collect, and for what purpose.
3.0. Sensitive Data
We do not gather sensitive personal data (e.g. health, genetic, biometric data; racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, sexual orientation, and criminal convictions). We expressly request that you do not provide any such sensitive data to us.
3.1. Children’s information
Our services are not directed to children under 16. If you learn that a child under 16 has provided us with personal information without consent, please contact us.
3.2. Third Parties
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties.
We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
We may pass your information to third party service providers who we have engaged for the purpose of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf. We disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service.
We also use a number of 3rd party services to help us fulfil our contractual obligations. These 3rd party services are listed in full below; we have verified that these 3rd party services are GDPR compliant (or are working towards GDPR compliance), and are certified under the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework (or are working towards certification) where these organisations are based outside of the EU.
3.3. Details
The following table outlines the personal data we collect and for what purpose. The table also outlines the 3rd parties the data is processed by or shared with, and how long the data is stored for:
| Name | What | Legal Ground | Purpose | 3rd Parties | Data Retention |
| Website Form Submissions | Client contact & veterinary information | Contract | Required to answer enquiries, book courses and tests | Held within WordPress database, hosted with Hexagon Web Hosting | 28 days |
| WooCommerce User Accounts & Order Data | Client contact information, order information & IP address | Contract | Required to fulfil e-commerce orders | Held within WordPress database, hosted with Hexagon Web Hosting | Until request for account deletion |
| Email Newsletter | Subscriber email address and name | Consent | Required to send email newsletter | Keap | Until user unsubscribes by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any marketing email |
| Analytics | Website visitor behaviour (anonymised – full IP address is NOT stored) | Legitimate interests | To analyse popular content, website performance, etc – so we can further improve. | Google Analytics We have signed DPA & anonymise IP addresses | 14 months |
| Server Logs | IP address | Legal obligation | To help prevent DoS (Denial of Service) attacks; for website security and diagnostics. | Hexagon Web Hosting | 7 days |
| Surveys | Responses to questions – both anonymous and identified depending on the survey and the information provided | Legitimate interests | To analyse care provision and views of respondents for identifying training needs developing services. | Indefinitely | |
| Website tracking | Tracks visits made to our website and associates page visits with contact records. IP address. | Legitimate interests | To analyse website content, performance etc, so we can improve it. Also used for marketing purposes. | Keap | Until deletion requested by user. |
User Authorised Data (When you give us permission to obtain data from other accounts)
Depending on your settings or the privacy policies for other online services, you may give us permission to obtain information from your account with those other services. For example, this can be via social media or by choosing to send us your location data when accessing our website on your smartphone.
4. Controlling your information
You have certain rights concerning the information we hold about you, as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation. If you wish to exercise these rights, please contact us, including your email address in the first instance (this is the unique identifier we use to identify and collate personal information).
4.0. Requesting a copy of your information
You may request a copy of any data we hold about you. Upon request, we will provide a CSV file (which you may open in a program such as Microsoft Excel) containing the personal data we hold on record about you.
4.1. Updating or correcting your information
The accuracy of your information is important to us. If you change email address, or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us so we may correct our records.
4.2. Deleting your information
You have the right to request erasure of your personal information. Unless there is a compelling reason for the data not to be erased (for example, if we need to use that data to fulfil our contractual or legal obligations), your personal data will be deleted on request.
4.3. Automated decision making
We do not use any personal information for automated decision making or profiling; your data is not subject to automated decision making or profiling.
5. Use of ‘cookies’
Like many other websites, the Camelid Veterinary Services website uses cookies. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website.
The following list outlines what we use cookies for:
- Google Analytics: Google Analytics sets cookies to help us accurately estimate the number of visitors to the website and what content is most popular. This helps to ensure that our website is responding to your needs in the best way possible.
- WordPress: This website is built using WordPress. WordPress uses cookies if you leave a review on one of our product pages, you won’t have to re-type your name, email address and website, this is so that if you wish to leave another comment. WordPress also sets cookies to facilitate the ‘My Account’ login process on this website.
- WooCommerce: Our online shop is run using a piece of software called WooCommerce. WooCommerce sets a number of cookies to keep track of cart data.
By using and browsing our website, you consent to cookies being used in accordance with this Policy.
If you do not consent, you must turn off cookies or refrain from using the site. Most browsers allow you to turn off cookies. To do this, look at the ‘help’ menu on your browser. Switching off cookies should not noticeably restrict your use of this website, with the exception of our online shop and ‘My Account’ facility, which require cookies to be enabled. If you wish to make a purchase or update your account and do not wish to enable cookies, please contact us directly so we may help you.
6. Security
Camelid Veterinary Services takes security seriously. In order to protect your information from loss, misuse or unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. These steps include the following:
- Data minimisation
- Password best practice
- Security best practice concerning devices (PCs, laptops, mobile devices), online accounts, website hosting, physical access and storage
- Staff training and accountability on data protection
A copy of our internal Data Security Policy is available on request.
7. Data Breaches
Our Data Security Policy includes a clear process for handling a personal data breach, should one occur. Where appropriate, Camelid Veterinary Services will promptly notify you of any unauthorized access to your personal information.
8. Complaints
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal information, you can contact us directly and we will investigate the matter.
If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal information not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Please note, we are constantly reviewing how we process and protect data. Therefore, changes to our policy may occur at any time. We will endeavour to publicise any changes