Privacy Policy

The International Veterinary Governance Observatory (IVETGO) is an independent research and transparency initiative. We operate this website at ivetgo.com.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, IVETGO is the data controller in respect of personal data collected through this website.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at the address below.

We collect personal data only when you actively provide it to us. This includes:

• Contact form submissions — your name (if provided), email address, and the content of your message.
• Enquiry type — the reason you selected when contacting us (e.g. data correction, jurisdiction request).

We also collect limited technical data automatically when you visit our site. This includes your IP address (anonymised), browser type, pages visited, and approximate geographic region. This data is used solely for site security and aggregate usage analysis. It does not identify you personally.

We do not collect sensitive personal data (as defined under UK GDPR Article 9), and we do not use automated decision-making or profiling.

We use the personal data you provide to:

• Respond to your enquiry or submission.
• Process data corrections, jurisdiction requests, or document submissions you have sent us.
• Contact you if we need clarification about your submission.
• Notify you of the public launch of IVETGO if you have requested this.

We do not use your data for marketing, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to your enquiry.

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — to respond to your enquiry and improve the accuracy of our data.
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — for optional analytics cookies, where you have clicked "Accept" on our cookie banner.
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) — where we are required to retain records by law.

We use cookies to make our site work and, with your consent, to understand how visitors use it.

Essential cookies are necessary for the site to function and are set automatically. They do not require your consent.

Analytics cookies are only set if you click "Accept" on our cookie banner. These help us understand aggregate usage patterns — for example, which pages are most visited. No personally identifiable information is collected through analytics cookies.

You can withdraw your consent to analytics cookies at any time by clicking "Manage cookies" in the footer. Your browser settings can also be used to block or delete cookies.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data.

We may share data with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate this website (for example, hosting and messaging infrastructure). These providers are contractually required to process data only on our instructions and in accordance with UK GDPR.

We will disclose personal data if required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request from a public authority.

We retain contact form submissions for up to 24 months from the date of receipt, or until the matter is resolved, whichever is sooner.

Analytics data is retained in aggregate, anonymised form only. No personally identifiable analytics data is stored beyond 30 days.

You may request deletion of your data at any time — see Section 9.

IVETGO is operated from the United Kingdom. If any of our service providers process data outside the UK or EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK GDPR Chapter V (for example, Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions).

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access — to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — to ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction — to ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Right to data portability — to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 10. We will respond within one calendar month.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — the UK supervisory authority — at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise your data rights, or to raise a concern, please contact us through our contact page.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Material changes will be communicated via a notice on our website.