Pet Detectives North East - Privacy Policy

Effective date: 10/10/2025

Pet Detectives North East (“we”, “our”, “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling all information lawfully, fairly, and transparently. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect information relating to missing- and registered-pet reports.

Who we are

Pet Detectives North East operates as a lawful, non-profit investigative and welfare service dedicated to reuniting pets with their rightful owners within the North East of England. Contact email: desk@petdetectivesnortheast.co.uk

The information we collect

We collect only the information needed to trace, verify, and contact pet owners or finders.

• Name and email address

• Optional telephone number

• Location, time and date of disappearance or discovery

• Pet name and identifying details (species, breed, colour, microchip number, distinguishing marks)

• Any photographs voluntarily supplied

We do not collect or store financial, medical, or unrelated personal information.

How we use your information

Your data is used solely to:

1. Verify the authenticity of missing-pet or registration reports.

2. Contact you regarding verification, updates, or reunification.

3. Issue verified public alerts containing pet information only (never owner details).

4. Maintain internal records for accountability and lawful data-handling compliance.

Our two databases

We operate two secure databases:

1. Pet Registration Database – holds pet identification and verified owner-contact details used for lawful tracing.

2. Missing Pets Database – stores live or archived cases relating to disappearances and recoveries.

Access to both systems is restricted to authorised Pet Detectives North East personnel.
Public-facing alerts draw limited data (pet name, species, description, location last seen, date/time) from these databases; no personal data is ever published.

Lawful basis for processing

Processing is carried out under:

• Consent – you actively provide information and consent to its use for tracing purposes.

• Legitimate interest – to protect animal welfare and reunite pets with rightful owners.

Data retention

• Records in the Missing Pets Database are retained until a case is closed, plus 30 days for auditing.

• Records in the Pet Registration Database remain until the owner requests deletion or updates registration details.
  All data is securely deleted or anonymised once retention periods expire.

Data sharing

We never sell, trade, or release personal data. Information may be shared only with:

• Licensed animal-welfare agencies (e.g. RSPCA, local authority animal wardens) when lawfully required, or

• Law-enforcement bodies for the prevention or investigation of crime.

All sharing is logged and limited to the minimum information necessary.

Security

Data is stored on encrypted servers located in the UK. Access is role-restricted and monitored. Communications are transmitted using secure TLS protocols. Paper notes (if any) are digitised and destroyed.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:

• Request access to the data we hold about you;

• Request correction of inaccurate data;

• Request deletion of data once it is no longer required;

• Withdraw consent at any time.

Requests should be sent to desk@petdetectivesnortheast.co.uk

Cookies and analytics

Our website uses minimal cookies only for functional performance and security. We do not employ advertising or behavioural tracking cookies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy periodically. Any substantive changes will be announced on our website, and the “Effective date” above will be amended accordingly.

Contact

For any data-protection enquiry, please contact:
Data Controller – Pet Detectives North East
Email: desk@petdetectivesnortheast.co.uk