Introduction

The British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) is committed to safeguarding your personal data and respecting your privacy. This privacy notice explains how we handle your information when you visit our website or access our services—wherever you're located—and outlines your rights and the legal protections available to you.

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE
2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
3. HOW IS YOUR PERSONAL DATA COLLECTED
4. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
5. DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
6. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
7. DATA SECURITY
8. DATA RETENTION
9. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
10. GLOSSARY
11. COOKIES

1. Important information and who we are

Purpose of this privacy notice

This privacy notice explains how BSAS collects and uses your personal data when you engage with our website—whether as a logged-in or non-logged-in user. This includes information you may provide when subscribing to our newsletter, registering for events, purchasing products or services, participating in professional development activities, or contributing to our initiatives.

This website is not intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect data relating to anyone under the age of 18.

Please read this privacy notice alongside any other privacy or fair processing statements we may provide on specific occasions. These notices work together to help you understand how and why BSAS processes your personal information.

This statement is intended to complement, not override, any additional notices.

Controller

This privacy notice is issued by the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS), so when we refer to “BSAS”, “we”, “us” or “our”, we mean the organisation responsible for handling your personal data. We will make clear which BSAS service is acting as the data controller whenever you engage with us—such as when you register for an event, subscribe to communications, or access our resources.

BSAS is the data controller for this website and its associated services.

We have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who oversees questions about this privacy notice. If you have any concerns or would like to exercise your legal rights, please contact our DPO using the details provided below.

Contact details

Our full details are:

Full name of legal entity: The British Society of Animal Science

Name or title of DPO: Maggie Mitchell, CEO

Email address: maggie.mitchell@bsas.org.uk

Postal address: 18 North Street, Glenrothes, Fife, KY7 5NA 18 North Street,
Glenrothes,
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Changes to the privacy notice and your duty to inform us of changes

This version was last updated on 19th June 2025 and historic versions can be obtained by contacting us.

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

Third-party links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, plug-ins, or applications. By following those links or enabling such features, you may allow those third parties to collect or share data about you. BSAS does not control these external websites and is not responsible for their privacy practices.

We strongly recommend reviewing the privacy notice of any website you visit after leaving our own, to ensure you understand how your personal data may be used.

2. The data we collect about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store, and share various types of personal data about you, which we group as follows:

• Identity Data – includes your first name, last name, job title, employer name, and username or similar identifiers.
•  Contact Data – includes your company address, billing and delivery addresses, email address, and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data – includes bank account or payment details where relevant.
•  Transaction Data – includes records of payments to and from you and details of products or services you’ve obtained from BSAS.
• Technical Data – includes your IP address, login credentials, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system, and the devices you use to access our website.
• Profile Data – includes your activity history with BSAS, such as purchases or event registrations, expressed interests and preferences, feedback, and survey responses.
• Marketing and Communications Data – includes your preferences for receiving communications from BSAS and any third parties, as well as your communication preferences.

 

We also collect and use Aggregated Data—such as statistical or demographic information—for analytical and operational purposes. Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal information but is not considered personal under data protection laws unless it can be linked to identify you. For example, we may aggregate website usage data to understand how our members engage with specific features. If we ever combine Aggregated Data with identifiable personal information, we treat the result as personal data and protect it accordingly.

BSAS does not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you. This includes information regarding your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, sex life, political opinions, trade union membership, health status, or genetic and biometric data.

We also do not collect any data related to criminal convictions or offences.

If you fail to provide personal data

In some cases, we are required by law or under the terms of a contract to collect certain personal data. If you do not provide this information when requested, we may be unable to fulfil the contract we have with you—or are seeking to enter into—such as delivering products, services, or membership benefits.

Should this situation arise, we will inform you at the time and explain any necessary changes or cancellations.

3. How is your personal data collected?

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

Direct interactions – You may provide us with Identity and Contact Data by filling in forms or corresponding with us by post, phone, email, or otherwise. This includes personal data you share when you: 

• Apply for BSAS services or activities 
• Create an account on our website
• Subscribe to publications or communications
• Request marketing or event information
• Enter a competition, promotion, or survey
• Attend one of our events
• Provide feedback or engage in consultations

 

Automated technologies or interactions – When you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your device, browsing behaviour, and usage patterns. This data is collected through cookies, server logs, and similar technologies.

4. How we use your personal data

BSAS will only use your personal data when permitted by law. Most commonly, this will occur under the following circumstances:

• To fulfil a contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
• Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

 

We generally do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your data—except in cases where we send third-party direct marketing communications via email or text. In those cases, your consent will be explicitly requested and can be withdrawn at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe link found in our marketing emails.

Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have outlined below the primary ways BSAS may use your personal data, alongside the legal bases we rely on and, where relevant, our legitimate interests.

Please note that in some instances, we may rely on more than one lawful basis depending on the nature of our relationship or the specific service provided. If you would like more details about how a particular data use is justified, feel free to contact us.

Purpose/Activity	Type of Data	Lawful Basis for Processing	Legitimate Interests (where applicable)
Managing membership accounts, renewals, and benefits	Identity, Contact, Transaction	Performance of a contract	Delivering member services and communications
Organising events, CPD activities, and CPD participation	Identity, Contact, Profile, Transaction	Performance of a contract; Legitimate interest	Providing value-added content and networking opportunities
Processing payments or sponsorship	Identity, Contact, Financial, Transaction	Performance of a contract; Legal obligation	Financial administration of BSAS activities
Sending newsletters, updates, and promotional material	Identity, Contact, Marketing and Communications	Consent; Legitimate interest	Keeping our community informed and engaged
Gathering member feedback via surveys	Identity, Contact, Profile	Legitimate interest	Improving services and enhancing member experience
Administering website functionality and improving user experience	Technical, Usage	Legitimate interest	Ensuring effective website operation and optimisation
Complying with legal or regulatory obligations	Any necessary data	Legal obligation	N/A

 

Promotional offers from us

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage, and Profile Data to develop a clearer understanding of your preferences and interests. This helps us determine which BSAS services, opportunities, or content may be most relevant to you.

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information, registered for a service, or shared your details with us—for example, by entering a promotion or competition—unless you have opted out of receiving such communications.

Events

We may share your Identity and Contact Data with official event partners or retail providers strictly for the purpose of managing and administering the event. Full details of such sharing will be made available to you at the point of ticket purchase.

Opting out

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service purchase.

Cookies

You can configure your browser to refuse some or all browser cookies, or to notify you when cookies are being set or accessed. Please note that disabling or rejecting cookies may affect the functionality or accessibility of certain parts of websites.

Change of purpose

We will use your personal data only for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that it needs to be used for another purpose that is compatible with the original intent. If you would like an explanation of how the new use aligns with the original purpose, you’re welcome to contact us.

If we ever need to use your personal data for a purpose that is unrelated, we will inform you and explain the legal basis that permits us to do so.

Please note that, in certain circumstances, we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent where required or permitted by law.

5. Disclosures of your personal data

We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below for the purposes set out in the table in paragraph 4 above.

• Internal Third Parties.
• External Third Parties i.e. website developers, event PCO.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

6. Data security

BSAS has implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to help prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, accessed without authorisation, misused, altered, or disclosed.

Access to your personal information is restricted to employees, contractors, and authorised third parties who have a legitimate need to access it for operational or service-related purposes. These individuals or organisations will process your data only under our instructions and are bound by confidentiality obligations.

We also have established procedures to respond to suspected personal data breaches. Where legally required, we will inform you and notify the appropriate regulatory authorities.

7. Data retention

How long will you use my personal data for?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal data are available in our retention policy which you can request from us by contacting us.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

9. Your legal rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data.

You have the right to:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data's accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

10. Glossary

LAWFUL BASIS

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us

Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.

Comply with a legal or regulatory obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that we are subject to.

THIRD PARTIES

External Third Parties

• Service providers acting as processors who provide IT and system administration services.
• HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities acting as processors or joint controllers based in the United Kingdom who require reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances.
• Service Providers such as venues, our agents and sub-contractors, providers or services to BSAS.