Privacy notice for animal welfare – stray dogs

Why do we collect and use this information?

In order to carry out this function, Southampton City Council processes personal data about the following types of people:

  • The owners of stray dogs which are seized in Southampton

We hold this personal data securely and use it to:

  • Return seized dogs to their owner
  • Maintain a register of seized dogs, in compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992

Unless stated, we are the data controller for your personal data, and the following sections provide detail about the information we process and explains what allows us to do this (the lawful basis), who we may share it with, and how long we keep it for (the retention period).

The categories of information that we collect, hold, and share

As a local authority, we only process data that is necessary for us to carry out our statutory functions. To carry out our duties in respect of maintaining a register of seized dogs in accordance with the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992, the type of information we process is as follows:

Personal Data

  • Name of the owner of the stray dog
  • Address of the owner of the stray dog
  • Contact telephone number of the owner of the stray dog
  • Email address of the owner of the stray dog

The lawful basis on which we use this information

The use of your personal data is compliant with the following conditions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA2018):

Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR – It is necessary for us to process your information so we can comply with our legal obligations.

Details of our statutory powers and duties can be found on the Local Government Association’s website.

Under this lawful basis, we do not require your consent to process this information but we are required, through this privacy notice, to ensure that you are fully informed of why we are collecting this information and what we will do with it.

Please also note that no automated decision making (decisions taken without a person involved) occur for any parts of these procedures controlled by Southampton City Council and we do not use profiling to deliver our service to you.

Storing and securing data

The information provided to us for maintaining a register of seized dogs in accordance with the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992 will be held in a digital format.

The information provided to us will be held in accordance with the council’s Retention Schedule, and then it will be securely destroyed.

For information held for the purposes of returning stray dogs which are seized within the city of Southampton, your personal data will be held for six years.

Who do we share information with?

We may share your personal information with external organisations, such as the Police, to prevent and detect crime, however, this would only occur when the law allows us to do so.

We may have to share your information with other teams and departments in the council, in order to fulfil this, and other statutory duties, and to deliver a sufficient level of service, in the public interest, as a local authority.

For the purposes of caring for returning stray dogs which have been seized within the city of Southampton, we will routinely have to share your data with the provider of kennel services for the care of seized dogs (Portsmouth City Council).