Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

Last Hope Animal Charity respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you interact with us through:

our website https://lasthope.ie
adoption applications
volunteer applications
donations and fundraising activities
social media
email, phone or written communication

Last Hope Animal Charity processes personal data in accordance with:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Irish Data Protection Act 2018

1. Who We Are

Last Hope Animal Charity is the Data Controller for the personal information collected through our services.

Registered Charity Number: 20063481
Location: County Meath, Ireland

Contact Email: info@lasthope.ie

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of information.

Personal Data

Personal data is information that can identify you directly or indirectly.

Examples include:

name
postal address
email address
phone number

We collect this information when you:

contact us by phone or email
complete forms on our website
submit an adoption application
volunteer with the charity
donate to the charity
purchase items through our online shop
subscribe to our newsletter
register for fundraising activities
interact with us on social media

We may also collect personal data through paper forms completed during events, adoption days or volunteer activities.

Sensitive Information

Some information collected during adoption applications or home checks may be considered sensitive.

For example:

whether an individual has been banned by a court from keeping animals
whether a potential adopter can physically exercise a pet
views regarding neutering or spaying animals

This information is used solely to determine suitability for adoption and to ensure the welfare of animals.

Last Hope Animal Charity will never request your PPSN (Personal Public Service Number).

Non-Personal Data

We may collect non-identifiable information such as:

IP address
browser type
pages visited
files downloaded
website usage statistics

This information is used only in aggregate form to help improve our website.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal data only where necessary and for legitimate purposes related to our charitable activities.

Examples include:

Adoption Applications

To process adoption requests and assess suitability for animals in our care.

This may involve:

arranging home checks
contacting veterinary practices (with permission)
sharing information with foster carers involved in the adoption process
liaising with partner charities if a home check needs to be conducted locally

Contact Enquiries

To respond to questions or communications submitted through email, phone or website forms.

Donations and Fundraising

To process donations and manage fundraising activities.

If you donate through third-party platforms such as PayPal, iDonate or other similar platforms we generally receive only limited information such as:

donor name
donation amount

We do not receive credit or debit card details.

Online Shop

To process orders and deliver purchased items.

Payments are processed securely by external payment providers. Last Hope Animal Charity does not store credit card details.

Newsletter

If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address may be processed by our email distribution provider.

You may unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in the email.

Volunteer Management

We may use volunteer information to:

organise volunteer activities
provide training and updates
communicate about charity events or campaigns
acknowledge volunteer contributions

Legal Requirements

Where required, we may process personal data to comply with legal obligations.

For example, dog adoptions may require compliance with the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations 2015, which requires data to be provided to authorised microchip databases such as Fido.ie.

4. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve user experience and monitor website performance.

Cookies may:

store user preferences
help analyse website traffic
support certain website functions

Full details are available in our Cookie Policy.

5. Sharing Personal Data

Last Hope Animal Charity does not sell, rent or trade personal information.

We may share data only where necessary, including with:

volunteers conducting adoption home checks
foster carers involved in an adoption
partner charities assisting with home checks
payment processors handling donations or purchases
website hosting or technical service providers
authorised microchip registration databases
law enforcement or regulatory authorities where required by law

Where possible, we share only the minimum data required.

6. Data Retention

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data.

Information may be stored on secure servers operated by trusted service providers.

However, no internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

We therefore encourage users not to send sensitive financial information via email.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data.

Information may be stored on secure servers operated by trusted service providers.

However, no internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

We therefore encourage users not to send sensitive financial information via email.

8. Your Data Protection Rights

Under GDPR, you have the following rights:

the right to access your personal data
the right to request correction of inaccurate data
the right to request deletion of your personal data
the right to restrict processing of your data
the right to object to certain uses of your data
the right to withdraw consent where processing relies on consent
the right to request transfer of your data to another organisation

To exercise these rights, please contact us.

9. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites.

Last Hope Animal Charity is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites.

10. Updates to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in legal requirements or how we operate.

The latest version will always be published on this page.

11. Complaints or Questions