Privacy Policy

Privacy and GDPR Statement

Last updated: April 2025

RSPCA Devon Branch (trading as Little Valley Animal Shelter) is committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This statement explains how we collect, use and safeguard your personal information, in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and relevant charity and eCommerce regulations.

1. Who We Are

We are RSPCA Devon Branch, a separately registered charity (Charity Number: 205154) affiliated with the national RSPCA but independently funded. We operate under the name Little Valley Animal Shelter.

Data Controller:
RSPCA Devon Branch
Black Hat Lane, Bakers Hill, Exeter, EX2 9TA
Data Protection Contact: The Data Protection Officer, at the address above.

2. What Information We Collect and Why

We collect and process the following types of personal data:

Type of Data	Purpose
Name, email address, telephone number	To respond to enquiries, process donations, manage adoptions or volunteering
Postal address	For deliveries, receipts, thank-you letters, and Gift Aid
Payment information (via third-party providers)	To process purchases, donations, or event bookings
CCTV footage	For the safety and security of our staff, animals, visitors, and property
Marketing preferences	To send you news, event updates, and fundraising appeals (if you opt in)
Children’s names and contact details (when provided by a parent/guardian)	To manage participation in fundraising challenges, send thank-you materials, and administer event activity

We only collect data we need to carry out our charitable work and provide services such as adoptions, volunteering opportunities, fundraising, our online shop, and supporter communications.

3. Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal data using the following lawful bases:

• Consent – e.g., when you sign up for our newsletter or fundraising updates
• Contract – e.g., when you purchase items from our online shop or adopt an animal
• Legal obligation – e.g., complying with financial record-keeping or Gift Aid rules
• Legitimate interests – e.g., improving services, preventing fraud, or maintaining security via CCTV

4. How We Collect Your Data

We collect your data when you:

• Fill out a form on our website
• Make a purchase through our online shop (WooCommerce)
• Subscribe to our mailing list (via Mailchimp)
• Donate or fundraise through JustGiving, and choose to share your data with us
• Donate through our website or Donorfy
• Register for events (via Eventbrite)
• Adopt an animal, foster, or volunteer
• Contact us by phone, email, social media, or post
• Visit our shelter or shops (CCTV)

In some cases, parents or guardians provide data for children under 16 taking part in fundraising challenges or events. We only collect and use this data with the parent/guardian’s consent.

5. Who We Share Your Data With

We never sell your data. We only share your personal information with trusted third-party providers who help us deliver our services, including:

• Mailchimp (email marketing)
• Stripe (payment processing)
• WooCommerce (online shop platform)
• Eventbrite (event ticketing)
• Donorfy (donor and supporter database)
• JustGiving (fundraising platforms)
• WordPress/Website Hosting Providers (website and form submissions)

These organisations are under contract to process your data securely and only for the purposes we instruct.

6. Marketing and Communications

We will only send you marketing communications (e.g., newsletters, appeals, or event invitations) if you have opted in.

You can change your preferences or unsubscribe at any time by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link in any email
• Contacting us directly at: info@rspca-littlevalley.org.uk

We do not share your marketing data with the national RSPCA or any other external party.

We do not send marketing messages to children under 16.

7. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website uses cookies to enhance functionality and analyse how visitors use our site. You can manage or disable cookies in your browser settings. For more detail, please refer to our separate Cookie Policy (link to be added if applicable).

8. CCTV

We operate CCTV at our shelter and in our retail shops for safety and security. Footage is stored securely and retained for 1 month, unless required for investigation. Signs are displayed in areas where CCTV is in operation.

9. Data Retention

We only keep your data as long as necessary for the purpose we collected it for:

Type of Data	Retention Period
Donations, adoptions, supporter/donor records	Up to 6 years (for legal and audit reasons)
Customer records (online shop)	Up to 6 years
Children’s records (for fundraising or events)	Retained only as long as necessary for the event/activity
CCTV footage	1 month
Mailing list preferences	Until you unsubscribe

We securely delete or anonymise data once no longer needed.

10. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)
• Restrict or object to processing
• Withdraw consent (for marketing)
• Data portability (in applicable situations)

To exercise your rights, contact us in writing at the address above or by emailing: info@rspca-littlevalley.org.uk

If you are unhappy with our response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
www.ico.org.uk

11. Children’s Data

We do not knowingly collect data directly from children under 16 unless it is provided by a parent or guardian.

• Where a child (under 16) signs up for a newsletter or event through a third-party platform, we may not always know their age.
• If we receive children’s details from a parent or guardian, this data is stored as a child record and only used for event-related purposes — such as sending thank-you certificates, medals, or fundraising materials.
• We do not use children’s data for marketing purposes or share it with third parties.
• All child-related data is stored securely and retained only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected.

12. Changes to This Statement

We may update this privacy statement from time to time. Any significant changes will be published on our website and noted at the top of this page.