Legal & Privacy

Terms & Conditions of Sale | Privacy Policy | Artificial Intelligence Policy

Wildlife Conservation International (WCI) is an international alliance of charitable conservation organisations registered as Wildlife Conservation International in Australia, United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom; as WCI Canada Foundation in Canada, and Forests for People in New Zealand. WCI operates The Orangutan Project, International Elephant Project, International Tiger Project, and Forests for People. These policies and terms apply to all WCI entities and websites.

Terms & Conditions of Sale

These terms apply to all purchases, memberships, adoptions, and donations made through this website. By completing a transaction, you agree to these terms. Thank you for supporting our mission.

Who We Are

WCI is the data controller for personal information collected through this website.

Contact: info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org

Prices and Payment

All prices are displayed in the currency shown at checkout and include applicable taxes where required by law (e.g. GST in Australia and New Zealand, VAT in the UK and EU). Prices are subject to change; the price confirmed at checkout is the price you will be charged.

Payment is processed securely through our payment gateway. WCI does not store your card details. By submitting an order you confirm that you are authorised to use the payment method provided and that the information you have given is accurate.

A binding contract is formed only when WCI issues an order confirmation (receipt number). Until then, no contract exists.

Recurring Payments - Adoptions and Memberships

Monthly and annual adoption payments are ongoing.You may cancel at any time by contacting us. Annual adoptions and memberships renew automatically; we will notify you at least 14 days before your renewal date. You may cancel before renewal without charge. Cancellations requests should be sent to info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org 

Delivery

Physical goods are typically dispatched within 7-10 business days of your order confirmation. International orders may take up to 30 days. Delivery times are estimates only; WCI is not liable for delays outside our reasonable control.

Some goods can only be shipped within Australia, or may attract additional international delivery charges. This will be stated at checkout. If goods cannot be delivered, we will notify you and offer a full refund.

Right to Cancel

As a consumer, you have the right to cancel your order within 14 days of purchase, in accordance with applicable consumer protection laws in your jurisdiction.

To exercise your right to cancel, contact us at info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org within the cancellation period. We will refund you within 14 days using your original payment method. Return shipping costs are your responsibility unless the goods are faulty or incorrectly sent.

The right to cancel does not apply to personalised items, perishable goods, digital content once download has begun, or donations.

Faulty, Damaged or Incorrect Goods

If you receive goods that are faulty, damaged, or not as described, please contact us within 30 days of receipt. We will offer a replacement, exchange, or full refund as appropriate. This is in addition to, and does not limit, your statutory rights under:

  • Australian Consumer Law (ACL).  Mandatory consumer guarantees apply and cannot be excluded
  • UK Consumer Rights Act 2015
  • EU Sale of Goods Directive (2019/771/EU)
  • New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993
  • Canadian consumer protection legislation
  • Applicable US federal and state consumer protection law

To request a refund or exchange, email info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org 

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, WCI excludes liability for indirect, incidental, or consequential loss or damage arising from any transaction on this website. Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under applicable mandatory consumer protection law, including non-excludable statutory guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law and equivalent legislation in other jurisdictions.

Payment Security

All payment transactions are processed through a secure third-party payment gateway using SSL/TLS encryption. WCI does not store, see, or have access to your full card details at any point. If you have questions about payment security, contact us at info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org 

Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms periodically. The current version will always be posted on this page with the date of the last update. Continued use of the website after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which WCI is incorporated or registered. Where consumer protection laws in your country of residence provide greater rights, those rights are not affected by these terms.

Privacy Policy

This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website, how we use it, and your rights. As an international organisation, we are committed to meeting our privacy obligations in every country where we are registered and where our supporters are based

Who We Are

WCI is the data controller for personal information collected through this website.

Contact: info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org 

What We Collect

We collect personal information only when you voluntarily provide it or when it is automatically generated by your use of this website. This may include:

  • Contact details (name, email, postal address, phone number)
  • Payment details for donations, memberships, or purchases, processed via a secure third-party payment processor; WCI does not store full card details.
  • Communications and enquiries you send us
  • Aggregated, non-identifying website usage data (via cookies. see Section 7)

We do not collect sensitive personal information (e.g. health data, ethnicity, religious beliefs, etc.) unless you voluntarily share it and we have a lawful basis to process it.

Why and on What Basis We Process Your Information

We use your information only for the purposes for which it was collected, including:

  • Processing donations, memberships, adoptions, and purchases
  • Responding to enquiries
  • Sending updates or newsletters where you have opted in
  • Improving our website and operations
  • Complying with legal and charity regulatory obligations (including financial record-keeping)

Who We Share Your Information With

WCI does not sell, rent, or trade personal information. We share it only where necessary:

  • With payment processors and IT service providers who support our operations, under data processing agreements
  • With charity regulators in jurisdictions where we are registered, as required by law
  • Where disclosure is required by law or court order

Third parties who receive your data are contractually bound to use it only for the specified purpose and to protect it in accordance with applicable law.

International Data Transfers

WCI operates across multiple countries. Your information may be stored or processed outside your country of residence. Where data is transferred outside the EU or UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission / UK ICO, or equivalent protections required by applicable law.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information and donor records for the ongoing purposes of our conservation programs and legal compliance. You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information at any time, subject to any legal obligations that require us to retain certain records.

Cookies

We use cookies to help our website function and to collect aggregated usage statistics. We do not use cookies to identify you personally. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect site functionality.

Where required by law, we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies.

Referral Attribution Cookies

When you visit our website via a link that includes a referral identifier (such as a link in one of our communications, a link on a partner website, a link shared by a fundraiser, or any other referred link) we use a small number of cookies to record the source of that referral. These cookies store only a reference code assigned to that link. They contain no personal information about you.

These cookies serve the same function as your browser’s standard HTTP referrer mechanism. They tell our systems where you came from so we can correctly attribute your donation to the source that directed you to us. This ensures your donation is recorded accurately in our systems, and allows us to correctly acknowledge fundraisers, fulfil partner reporting obligations, and reconcile our communications activity.

Cookies used:

  • first_known_referral - records the referral source from your first visit via a referred link
  • last_known_referral - records the referral source from your most recent visit via a referred link

Legal basis: We classify these cookies as Essential (Strictly Necessary). They are necessary for the correct processing and accurate recording of a donation transaction you have initiated. The data stored is a reference code assigned to a link; it contains no personal data about you and is functionally equivalent to information your browser transmits automatically via the HTTP Referer header. Without these cookies, your donation will still be processed successfully, but may be recorded without its correct source attribution, affecting our ability to accurately acknowledge fundraisers and fulfil reporting obligations. The same result could be achieved by directing visitors to source-specific pages, confirming that no additional personal data is collected or shared with third parties through this mechanism.

Retention: These cookies are retained until your browser session ends.

Note: As Essential cookies, first_known_referral and last_known_referral do not require your consent and cannot be disabled via our Cookie Preferences centre. They are active whenever you visit our website via a referred link.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information. Payment transactions are handled by secure third-party processors. No internet transmission is completely secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities of any serious data breach as required by law (including under Australia’s NDB scheme, GDPR, UK GDPR, NZ Privacy Act 2020, and applicable US and Canadian law).

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

Access

Request a copy of personal information we hold about you

Correction

Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data

Deletion

Request deletion of your data, subject to legal obligations

Restriction

Request that we limit processing of your data (EU/UK)

Portability

Receive your data in a portable format (EU/UK/Canada)

Objection

Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing (EU/UK)

Withdraw consent

Where processing is consent-based, withdraw consent at any time

Complaint

Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (see below)

To exercise any right, contact us at info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org We will respond within the timeframe required by your applicable law (generally 30 days). We will not charge a fee for reasonable requests.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have done so, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The revised policy will be posted here with an updated date. For significant changes, we will notify you by email where we hold your contact details.

Regulatory Contacts

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you may contact the relevant authority in your jurisdiction:

Australia

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) www.oaic.gov.au

New Zealand

Office of the Privacy Commissioner www.privacy.org.nz

UK

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) www.ico.org.uk

EU / Netherlands

Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl | or local EU supervisory authority

Canada

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada www.priv.gc.ca

USA

Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov | or applicable state authority

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

At WCI, technology is a tool in service of nature. We use artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly, ethically, and transparently and always in ways that support our conservation mission and the communities and ecosystems we work to protect. This policy explains how we use AI and what you can expect from us.

How We Use AI

WCI uses AI tools to support activities including:

  • drafting and editing communications, reports, and educational content
  • analysing ecological data and supporting field research
  • summarising documents or responding to routine enquiries
  • supporting fundraising, grant writing, and stakeholder engagement

AI supports our people; it does not replace human judgement. All significant decisions remain with WCI staff.

Our Commitments

WCI commits to using AI in a way that is:

  • Human-centred: AI is used only in ways that support our mission and the communities and ecosystems we serve. It will never be used to deceive, manipulate, or harm.
  • Transparent: we are open about when and how AI is used. Content with significant AI assistance is reviewed by a human before publication, or clearly labelled as AI-generated where review is not possible.
  • Privacy-protective: personal, confidential, or sensitive information will not be entered into public AI platforms without appropriate consent.
  • Fair and accurate: AI outputs are reviewed for accuracy and bias before use.
  • Accountable: Directors of all WCI alliance entities hold ultimate responsibility for AI use within their respective entities, in accordance with this shared policy. 
  • Legally compliant: we comply with all applicable data protection and privacy laws in every jurisdiction where we operate.

AI-Generated Content

When AI assists with written content, images, or video:

  • All AI-assisted text is reviewed and approved by a WCI staff member before publication.
  • Where human review is not possible, content is clearly labelled as AI-generated.
  • WCI does not use photorealistic AI-generated images or video in any of its communications or publications.

Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions about how WCI uses AI or how your data may have been used, contact us at: info@wildlifeconservationinternational.org.au