Privacy Policy – Animal Health & Welfare NI

AHWNI Privacy Statement.

Data Controller Name: Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI)

Address Unit 49, Dungannon Enterprise Centre, BT71 6JT

Telephone 028 7963 9333

Last Updated On 12-Sep-2025

This describes the Privacy Policy of Animal Health & Welfare NI. By accessing or using the Service, you are consenting to the collection, use and disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not consent to the same, please do not access or use the Service.

We may modify this Privacy Policy at any time without any prior notice to you and will post the revised Privacy Policy on the website. Your continued access or use of the Service after such time will constitute your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We therefore recommend that you periodically review this page.

Who is Animal Health and Welfare NI?

AHWNI is a not-for-profit organisation that was set up by the NI Agri-Food industry to assist the industry in controlling and wherever possible eradicating endemic diseases of livestock that are a significant constraint on animal production in Northern Ireland. It is overseen by a board of directors drawn from across the agri-food industry within N. Ireland.

Information We Collect.

AHWNI only uses farmer and vet related information that is necessary to service the initiatives that AHWNI is engaged in. As other schemes and initiatives are developed and rolled out only that information necessary will be collected and will be used solely for the purposes of each scheme or initiative.

In summary we will collect and process some or all the following personal information about you:

Name
Email
Mobile
Work Address
Farm Animal Identifiers

How We Collect Your Information.

We collect/receive information about you in the following manner and from these sources:

Electronically from DAERA.
Electronically from tag suppliers.
Electronically from laboratories.
Electronically or by personal contact from private veterinary practitioners.
Directly from herd and flock keepers either electronically or through personal contact.
Electronically when a user fills in any registration form to join any of AHWNI’s programmes or initiatives or otherwise submits personal information.

Electronically through Google Analytics for website monitoring purposes.

How We Use Your Information.

AHWNI only uses user-related information that is necessary to service the initiatives that AHWNI is engaged in. The BVD scheme is statutory and only that information necessary to fulfil the requirements of the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Control Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 and the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Eradication Scheme (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024 is used. The Johne’s Disease Control Programme (JDCP) is voluntary and before a farmer enrolls in it, they are required to agree to the terms and conditions of the programme which includes a detailed description of how their data will be used. As other schemes and initiatives are developed and rolled out only that information necessary for them will be collected and will be used solely for the purposes of each scheme or initiative.

In summary we will use the information that we collect about you for the following purposes:

Creating user accounts.
Supporting each participating user in each of the programmes AHWNI manages and in which they are participating.
Enforcing terms and conditions.
Administering programmes and initiatives.
Website monitoring.
Research and Development.

If we want to use your information for any other purpose, we will ask you for consent and will use your information only on receiving your consent and then, only for the purpose(s) for which you grant consent unless we are required to do otherwise by law.

How We Share Your Information.

The only BVD related data AHWNI shares are individual animal BVD statuses with DAERA and, on occasion, individual animal related data with laboratories and Tag Suppliers. BVD statuses are used by DAERA to prevent the illegal moves of non-negative BVD animals and monitor the progress of the BVD eradication scheme. The BVD statuses of animals present in Northern Ireland farms are not shared with any other body unless there is explicit permission from the individual herdowner to do so. Any data shared with approved labs is for the sole purpose of resolving test queries. This data can include the current herd list, details of herds that animals have moved from and to, animal dates of birth, and animal dates of death. Herd and animal test statuses will only be shared with a farmer’s nominated veterinary practitioner and only after consent has been given.

All other data collected for the purposes of other AHWNI initiatives are solely for the benefit of each individual herd or flock keeper. Personal data will only be shared with the keeper’s nominated veterinary practitioner and only following consent. No personal data will be shared with any third party unless there is explicit consent given by the data owner.

On occasion AHWNI, with research partners, will undertake research using the data as part of AHWNI initiatives. Where data is shared with a third party such as a research institute, the data will be anonymised such that individual herdowners cannot be identified and their geographical location masked to prevent their identification on maps.

No personal data will be transferred to other countries. In some circumstances the BVD statuses of exported animals may be shared with other jurisdictions to assist with their BVD control programmes but no personal data will be transferred.

Fundamentally we will not transfer your personal information to any third party without seeking your consent, except in limited circumstances as described below.

to comply with applicable law, regulation, court order, or other legal process
to enforce your agreements with us, including this Privacy Policy
to respond to claims that your use of the Service violates any third-party rights.

If the Service or our company is merged or acquired with another company, your information will be one of the assets that is transferred to the new owner.

Analytics.

Our websites use Google Analytics to assist with tracking website usage and providing insights into how the websites are used. This data includes IP addresses and cookie IDs.

Retention Of Your Information:

We will retain your personal information for the duration of any programmes or initiatives you are participating in or for as long as we need it to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected as detailed in this Privacy Policy. We may need to retain certain information for longer periods such as record-keeping / reporting in accordance with applicable law or for other legitimate reasons like enforcement of legal rights or fraud prevention. Residual anonymous information and aggregate information, neither of which identifies you (directly or indirectly), may be stored indefinitely.

Your Rights.

Depending on the law that applies, you may have a right to access and rectify or erase your personal data or receive a copy of your personal data, restrict or object to the active processing of your data, ask us to share (port) your personal information to another entity, withdraw any consent you provided to us to process your data, lodge a complaint with a statutory authority and such other rights as may be relevant under applicable laws. To exercise these rights, you can write to us at info@animalhealthni.com. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law.

Do note that if you do not allow us to collect or process the required personal information or withdraw the consent to process the same for the required purposes, you may not be able to access or use the services for which your information was sought.

Cookies.

Our websites use cookies. These allow web applications to gather and remember information about your preferences so that they can respond to you individually, allowing the application to be tailored to your needs.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This allows the analysis of web page traffic and for us to improve our website and to tailor it to your needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. You can normally modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Security.

The security of your information is critically important to us, and we will use all reasonable security measures to prevent the loss, misuse, or unauthorized alteration of your information under our control.

Accuracy.

All material included on AHWNI’s websites is intended for general information purposes only. It is not intended to be legal or professional advice. While AHWNI will undertake to ensure as far as it is in its power to provide accurate and trustworthy information on its websites, AHWNI, its staff and its directors make no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the accuracy of its contents and expressly disclaims all such representations and warranties. All liability of AHWNI howsoever arising (including negligence) for any such inaccuracies or errors is expressly excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Accessibility.

It is AHWNI’s intention to ensure, as far as practically possible, that the material provided on its websites is widely accessible. This includes the ability to zoom pages without losing text or page layout, being able to navigate the website using keyboard shortcuts and speech recognition software and using screen reader software. If you have any feedback on the accessibility of the website or how it could be improved, please contact us at info@animalehalthni.com.

Grievance.

If you have any queries or concerns about the processing of your information that is available to us, you may email us at info@animalhealthni.com. We will address your concerns in accordance with applicable law.