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Privacy Policy

Wildlife Rescue Association of BC (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us by donors, members, employees, directors, volunteers, users of our services, and other stakeholders (“you” or “your”). We handle personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and any other applicable legislation. By providing your personal information to us or by using our services, including contacting our Wildlife Support Centre or admitting an animal to our Wildlife Hospital (collectively, “our services”), you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this policy and as permitted or required by law.

We do not sell, rent, or exchange your personal information with any other organization or entity.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information that can identify an individual, for example, a person’s name, home address, or phone number. It also means information about an identifiable individual, for example, educational qualifications or donation history.

What personal information do we collect?

We collect your personal information in order to perform our services and activities that support our vision; to continually improve the welfare of urban wildlife, and mission; to provide leadership in rehabilitating wildlife and in promoting the welfare of wild animals in the urban environment; or where it is legally required of us. We may collect:

• Your contact information, including your name, phone number, mailing or home address, email address, social media usernames, and job title.
• Information about your donations to us, including dates and amounts.
• Your contact history with us, including dates, contact method, and details of the conversation.
• Information that you provide to enable our Support Centre to assist with a case. This may include your location, buzzer numbers, or photographs submitted by you which may contain identifying information.
• Your communication preferences.
• Financial information, such as your credit card details or bank account information, only as necessary to process transactions.
• Your activity on our website.
• Video recordings of visitors to our site for security purposes.
• Your relationships to members of your household who are also Wildlife Rescue stakeholders, as required to perform activities relevant to your household, such as sending mail, managing joint donations, or managing family memberships.

How is your personal information collected?  

Information you provide  

We may collect your personal information when you provide it to us directly. For example:  

• When you provide the information necessary to process your donation to us.  
• When you fill out an intake form.  
• When you apply to become a member, volunteer, employee, or board member.  
• When you contact us.  
• When you complete a survey or provide feedback to us.  

Information from other sources  

We may collect personal information that third parties gather on our behalf. For example:  

• When you provide your information to a veterinary clinic or other partner that is receiving a patient on our behalf, they may collect your contact information and provide that information to us.  
• When you provide your information to a service provider that is performing a service on our behalf, such as processing a payment or signing you up for our mailing list, they may collect the information necessary to complete that service and provide that information to us.  
• When a friend, family member, or acquaintance donates in your honour or in memory of a loved one, they may provide your contact information so that we may notify you of their gift.  
• When you visit our website, Google Analytics uses cookies to track your activity. For information on how google uses this data and how to opt-out, visit https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.  

How do we use your personal information?  

We will not use or disclose your personal information other than for the purposes for which it was collected, with the exception of receiving your consent or as permitted or required by law. The use of your personal information is necessary to operate as a non-profit organization and to provide our services. We may use your personal information to:  

• Issue tax receipts to donors.  
• Identify you and manage your profile in our system.  
• Respond to inquiries and provide support for wildlife or other matters relating to our organization.  
• Report to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).  
• Contact you about our activities, fundraising campaigns, and provide mission-related communications.  
• Inform strategic decisions.  
• Improve our website or determine the success of our marketing campaigns.  
• Process transactions.  
• Apply for government funding.  

Do we share your personal information?  

We do not sell, rent, or exchange your personal information with any other organization or entity. We disclose your personal information only for the purposes described below and as required by law.  

• We may disclose donors’ full names, addresses, gift dates and gift amounts, if requested by the CRA.  
• We disclose your information to service providers only as necessary for them to perform services on our behalf. These services may include preparing mailing lists, printing, consulting, hosting data, or processing transactions. These service providers are only permitted to use your personal information for the purposes for which it was disclosed to them and are required to maintain appropriate privacy and security policies.  
• Anonymized or aggregated data may be used to generate reports for internal and external stakeholders. In this case, no identifying information is disclosed.  
• We may ask for your express consent to disclose your personal information for other purposes. For example, we may ask to publicly acknowledge our major supporters or to provide your contact information to environmental agencies for the purpose of wildlife monitoring.  
• We may disclose your personal information to government agencies, health authorities, or wildlife rescue groups without express consent only for the purpose of responding to an animal emergency or potential exposure to a serious wildlife disease and only when express consent cannot be obtained in a timely way.  
• Employees’ personal information may be disclosed to government agencies in accordance with their employment duties and as required to apply for funding.  

How is your information stored?  

Your personal information may be stored in hard copy or digitally. We store your personal information in Canada whenever possible. It may be necessary to store your personal information in digital format outside of Canada, particularly when using services provided by organizations located in other countries. We require service providers to maintain appropriate protections over personal information shared with them.  

We retain security camera recordings for 7 days. After 7 days these recordings are permanently deleted, unless the recording is relevant to an ongoing investigation.  

Unless specified, we retain your personal information for as long as it may support our vision and mission, except as prohibited or required by law.  

How do we protect your personal information?  

The security of your personal information is a priority for us. We maintain appropriate safeguards to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse. For example:   

• We limit the amount of financial data that we have access to by using payment processors to accept payments on our behalf. These processors are compliant with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).  
• If your payment information must be saved, for example, if you are a monthly donor, it is stored securely with our payment processors according to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.  
• When it is necessary for us to collect your payment information directly, such as when you donate by mail or over the phone, we do not store credit card details or banking information longer than necessary to complete the transaction.   
• Staff members, volunteers, and board members with access to personal data must abide by our confidentiality agreement.  
• Documents containing financial information, including hard copies and digital files, are stored in a secure location and are accessible only to personnel who require the data to perform their role.  
• Our service providers have been selected with consideration of their security and privacy practices.  
• Documents containing personal information are destroyed securely and confidentially.  

Do we collect children’s personal information?  

Our Support Centre and Wildlife Hospital services are not intended to be used by children. If you are under 12, we encourage you to use our Support Centre or wildlife hospital services with the involvement of a parent or guardian.  

We may perform activities that are intended for children, for example, hosting day camps or giving educational presentations. With express consent from the child or the child’s parent or guardian, we may collect, use or disclose the child’s personal information only as required to carry out these activities.  

How to access or update your personal information.  

You have the right to request access to your personal information and the right to request the correction or erasure of your personal information, subject to our legal obligations.  

If you would like to stop receiving our email marketing communications, please use the link at the bottom of any marketing email or contact us. To update your communication preferences, including your lettermail marketing preferences, email giving@wildliferescue.ca or call 604-526-2747 ext. 502.  

To update your personal information, request a copy of your personal information, make a complaint, or request further information about our Privacy Policy, please contact:  

Attn: Privacy Officer 
5216 Glencarin Dr, Burnaby BC, V5B 3C1 
604-526-2747 ext. 515 
privacy@wildliferescue.ca  

Changes to this policy  

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the revised Privacy Policy on our website. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on our website. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy often to stay informed of changes that may affect you.