Privacy policy

The Hague Animal Center Foundation Privacy Statement

The Hague Animal Center Foundation processes personal data. We would like to inform you clearly and transparently about this. In this privacy statement, we answer the most important questions about how the Hague Animal Center handles personal data.

What is personal data?
Personal data refers to information that says something about you. For example, your name, address, or age. When this information — alone or combined — can be traced back to you, it is considered personal data. Examples include your address or email address, but also your first name together with your date of birth. If others have access to this personal data, they are required to handle it with care. Photos and videos are also regarded as personal data.

Whose personal data does The Hague Animal Center process?
The Hague Animal Center processes personal data of individuals with whom we have, want to have, or have had a direct or indirect relationship. This includes:

Employees and volunteers who are active at the Hague Animal Center.
Customers who have shown interest in or purchased a service or product from the Hague Animal Center.
Donors who support the Hague Animal Center financially to help achieve its statutory goals.
Individuals associated with companies or organizations with which we have, want to have, or have had a relationship.
Who is responsible for the processing of my personal data?
The Hague Animal Center processes personal data within Docasoft or OVAS, the administrative applications of the Hague Animal Center, and related systems.

Why does The Hague Animal Center process personal data?
When you enter into a relationship with the Hague Animal Center as a donor, customer, volunteer, or employee, we need personal data to serve you properly and to accurately register the relationship you seek.
Once a relationship exists, we use your data to maintain contact and to inform you about related matters. For instance, we use your name and address for communication purposes, and your bank account number for processing payments or refunds. If you ask a question, we use your data to assist you as best as possible.

Your data may also be used for promotional or marketing purposes if you have given your consent. For example, we may inform you about a new activity or service offered by the Hague Animal Center.
If you no longer wish to be contacted, you can unsubscribe by clicking ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of our emails or by sending an email to:

Additionally, we process data for practical reasons, such as administrative procedures related to adoption, donations, animal surrender, boarding services, and so on.

Cookies or similar technologies we use
The Hague Animal Center Foundation only uses technical and functional cookies, and analytical cookies that do not infringe on your privacy.
A cookie is a small text file stored on your computer, tablet, or smartphone during your first visit to our website.

The cookies we use are necessary for the website’s technical functionality and your ease of use. They ensure that the website works properly and remember, for example, your preferred settings. They also help us optimize our website.
You can opt out of cookies by adjusting your internet browser settings to no longer store cookies. Additionally, you can delete all previously stored information through your browser settings.

Does The Hague Animal Center also process special categories of personal data?
Special categories of personal data include sensitive information such as health details, criminal records, ethnic data, or racial background.
We only process such data if required by law, with your consent, or at your request. In the latter case, we only process this information if necessary for our services.
The Hague Animal Center actively monitors that data prohibited by law, such as a Citizen Service Number (BSN), is not stored.

How does The Hague Animal Center handle my personal data?
Your personal data is stored carefully and only kept as long as necessary for normal use within the foundation or for the purpose for which it was collected.

Who has access to my personal data?
You can, of course, access your own personal data by requesting it from The Hague Animal Center. Employees of The Hague Animal Center who need access to your data based on their role can also view it.

Sharing of personal data within The Hague Animal Center
If we want to use your data for a purpose different from the one it was originally collected for, we can only do so if the new purpose is closely related to the original one.
For example, if you register for an event and your contact information is retrieved directly from our administration.
The Hague Animal Center cannot and will not share data with external parties.

Sharing personal data with third parties
The Hague Animal Center does not sell your data to third parties and only provides it if necessary for fulfilling our agreement with you or to comply with a legal obligation.
With companies that process your data on our behalf, we sign a data processing agreement to ensure the same level of security and confidentiality of your data.
The Hague Animal Center Foundation remains responsible for these processing activities.

How long is my data retained?
The Hague Animal Center Foundation retains your personal data no longer than strictly necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected.
For shelter clients, no specific retention periods are applied, and we aim to keep the data current.
For boarding clients and donors, the retention period is two years.
Regarding volunteers and employees, the data is destroyed after five years.
The statutory requirements apply to the retention of these records.

What rules apply to the processing of personal data?
When processing personal data, The Hague Animal Center complies with applicable laws and regulations.
The Hague Animal Center does not make decisions based solely on automated processing that could have significant consequences for individuals.
This means that decisions are not made by computer programs or systems without human intervention (such as an employee of The Hague Animal Center Foundation).

Where can I submit a question or complaint?
If you have questions or complaints about the processing of your personal data by The Hague Animal Center, you can always contact us via kantoor@haagsdierencentrum.nl.
We will respond as quickly as possible, but always within four weeks.
We also inform you that you have the right to file a complaint with the national supervisory authority, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).
You can do so via the following link: https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/nl/contact-met-de-autoriteit-persoonsgegevens/tip-ons.

Changes to the privacy policy
The Hague Animal Center reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy.
It is recommended to consult this privacy policy regularly to stay informed about any changes.
You can save or consult this privacy policy on the website www.haagsdierencentrum.nl.