Guidance

Report dead wild birds: privacy notice

Published 13 December 2022

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

© Crown copyright 2022

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-dead-wild-birds-privacy-notice/report-dead-wild-birds-privacy-notice

Who collects your personal data

Defra is the controller for your personal data.

Your data will be processed by:

  • the Rural Payments Agency
  • the Animal and Plant Health Agency
  • the UK Health Security Agency
  • Public Health Wales
  • Public Health Scotland

You can email the Defra Data Protection Manager at data.protection@defra.gov.uk to find out how your personal data is used and ask about your rights.

The Data Protection Officer is responsible for checking that Defra complies with the law. You can email them at DefraGroupDataProtectionOfficer@defra.gov.uk

What personal data Defra collects and how it’s used

Defra collects your:

  • name, so they know who they need to speak to
  • telephone number, so they can phone you for more information about the location of the dead wild birds if they need to

  • email address, so they can send you the results if the dead wild birds you found are tested for bird flu - a public health agency will email you with health advice if they test positive

  • home address, if that’s where you found the dead wild birds

The legal basis for processing your personal data is to provide public health advice and perform a task in the public interest laid down by law: to control the spread of bird flu in the UK.

The processing of your personal data is not based on consent. You cannot withdraw it.

Who Defra shares your personal data with

Defra may share your personal data with:

  • UK Farmcare
  • Rural Payments Agency
  • Animal and Plant Health Agency
  • UK Health Security Agency
  • Public Health Wales
  • Public Health Scotland

Defra respects your personal privacy when they respond to access to information requests. They only share information when necessary to meet the statutory requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

How long Defra holds personal data

Defra will keep your personal data for the year you report the dead birds and for another 6 years, in line with Defra’s retention schedule.

What happens if you do not provide personal data

You do not need to provide personal data if you report dead wild birds that will not be collected and tested for bird flu.

Use of automated decision-making or profiling

The personal data you provide is not used for:

  • automated decision making (making a decision by automated means without any human involvement)
  • profiling (automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain things about an individual)

Transferring your personal data outside the UK

Defra will only transfer your personal data to another country that is deemed adequate for data protection purposes.

Your rights

Find out about your individual rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Complaints

You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time.

Defra’s personal information charter

Defra’s personal information charter explains more about your rights over your personal data.

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