Privacy Overview
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA) values your trust and recognizes the importance of being transparent and accountable in how we treat the personal information you share with us. The information below addresses many frequently asked questions related to privacy and personal information.
For the most complete information, please read the full BC SPCA Privacy Policy.
The BC SPCA is committed to adhering to the principles of all applicable privacy laws, including British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and, CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) to the extent applicable.
By using the BC SPCA’s website or otherwise providing us with your personal information, you are hereby consenting to the BC SPCA’s collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Policy. If you do not consent to the practices described in the policy, you should not continue to use our websites or services.
Further information on privacy and your rights regarding your personal information may be found on the website of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.
The BC SPCA maintains additional privacy statements to provide more specific privacy information about some of our services. Please see:
Who do I contact with questions about my personal information?
Questions or concerns relating to the BC SPCA’s policy on the treatment of personal information can be directed to privacy@spca.bc.ca.
How does the BC SPCA collect and use personal information?
The BC SPCA collects and uses various types of personal information, depending on how you interact with our activities, events, programs and services (e.g., as an online account holder, member, donor, volunteer, participant or service user). Generally speaking, the BC SPCA uses your personal information to (i) carry out our work, (ii) process donations or purchases, (iii) communicate with you about our work for animals, (iv) for advertising and analytics purposes, (v) to improve our services, website and marketing strategies, and (vi) otherwise as permitted or required by law or as needed to manage our relationship with you. For more information on how we collect and use your personal information, consent, and what personal information we may collect, store and use, please see the full Privacy Policy.
How does the BC SPCA share personal information?
The BC SPCA does not sell, rent, copy, distribute, or otherwise share any of your personal information except as outlined in the Privacy Policy. When we must share your personal information, we will take steps to ensure that the other organization understands and follows the same PIPA obligations.
How Can I Opt-Out of BC SPCA Communications?
The BC SPCA may use your personal information to contact you by mail, phone, text, or email, in compliance with applicable laws and in line with your stated communication preferences.
You may ‘opt-out’ from receiving communications at any time using the unsubscribe feature provided in our emails, or by contacting us. We are happy to assist you in setting the communication preferences that are right for you, please reach out by email or by phone 604.681.7271 (1.855.665.1868 outside the Lower Mainland).
Please note that even if you opt-out of receiving promotional communications, we may need to retain your contact information and send you important non-promotional messages, such as:
- Transaction confirmations;
- Security alerts;
- Updates about services you have requested; or
- Legal or regulatory notices.
What Data Does the Website Collect Automatically?
This website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to identify you and your interests, to remember your preferences, to track the use of the website, and to administer, analyze, protect and improve our website. We also use cookies and similar tracking technologies to facilitate our marketing efforts, including to display advertisements that are relevant to your interests based on your online activities. We share information about your use of our website with our research, advertising, marketing and other partners, as further described in our Privacy Policy. You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings.
Aggregated web user data collected by the BC SPCA may, from time to time, be provided to our sponsors and underwriters in relation to carrying out our work and to share the impact of their generous support.
Third Party Links
To provide you with more information on various issues, we may provide links to third party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share Personal Information about you. We do not control these third parties and are not responsible for their privacy statements, practices and viewpoints. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.