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V.1 [Last updated on September 2025]
Please read these Terms and Conditions (“Terms“) carefully before using www.wildlifecrimeacademy.eu or any related password-protected platform (the “Website“, “Platform“, “Service“) operated by the Vulture Conservation Foundation (“VCF“, “we“, “us“, “our“, “Organisation“), which is the leading organisation conserving and protecting Europe’s vulture species and the coordinating beneficiary of the WildLIFE Crime Academy project.
The Website has two components:
The purpose of this Website includes, but is not limited to:
These are the Terms and Conditions governing the use of this Service and the agreement that operates between the User (“User”, “You”, “Your” means a person, organisation, or entity accessing or using the Website or Platform). These Terms and Conditions set out the rights and obligations of all Users regarding the use of the Service.
Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on Your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms and Conditions. By registering for or using either the public Website or the Knowledge Exchange Platform, You agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
If You disagree with any part of these Terms and Conditions, You may not access or use the Service.
You represent that You are over the age of 18. The Organisation does not permit those under 18 to use the Service.
Your access to and use of the Service is also conditioned on Your acceptance of and compliance with the Privacy Policy of the Organisation. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for detailed information on how VCF collects, uses, and discloses personally identifiable information from its Users, including specific rules for the Knowledge Exchange Platform, such as user registration, forum contributions, and role-based access controls.
Certain areas of the Service, including the Knowledge Exchange Platform, require registration and approval by VCF before access is granted. By registering, You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during the registration process and to keep Your account details updated.
The Platform uses role-based access to manage different levels of permissions:
By using the Platform, You agree to:
VCF will not be liable for any damages arising from or in connection with the use of the Service.
You expressly understand and agree that VCF will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary damages, or damages for loss of profits including but not limited to, damages for loss of goodwill, use, data, or other intangible losses (even if VCF has been advised of the possibility of such damages), whether based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise, resulting from:
(i) the use or the inability to use the Service;
(ii) unauthorised access to or alteration of Your transmissions or data;
(iii) statements or conduct of any third party on the Service; or
(iv) any other matter relating to the Service.
For the Knowledge Exchange Platform, this includes but is not limited to: issues arising from user-contributed content, incorrect information shared by other users, or the unavailability of the Platform for technical reasons.
On its Website, VCF publishes its own publications and articles as well as links to other Websites, including information from its supporters, partners, colleagues or other relevant stakeholders.
VCF makes all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information on its Website is accurate at the time of publication. However, certain information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors, and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Information provided by users on the Knowledge Exchange Platform, including forum posts, uploaded documents, or shared case studies, represents the views and opinions of those individual users and not necessarily those of VCF. VCF does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any user-generated content.
VCF’s information provided on the Website reflects the opinions of the organisation only and cannot be constituted as legal or professional advice.
VCF reserves the right to modify information on this Website and to remove it.
If You find an error or incorrect information on one of our pages, please inform us.
This includes, but is not limited to, content, copyrights, trademarks and registered design rights.
You acknowledge and agree that the Website may contain Content (text, articles, photographs, videos, logos and designs) that are protected by copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized by VCF, You agree not to modify, copy, frame, scrape, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Service or the Service Content, in whole or in part, except that the foregoing does not apply to Your own User Content (as defined below) that You legally upload to the Service.
The information published on VCF’s Website can be used without charge, provided that You indicate the source of the material. For content published on this Website, please reference the copyright ‘www.wildlifecrimeacademy.eu /Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) – All rights reserved.’
User-Contributed Content:
If You are not certain about the source of the information or about Your right to use any of the information published on the VCF Website, please contact us.
The Knowledge Exchange Platform includes a discussion forum and collaborative spaces for sharing information. By participating, You agree to:
VCF reserves the right to monitor, moderate, edit, or remove forum content without notice if it violates these rules.
Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or Services that are not owned or controlled by the VCF.
VCF has no control over, and assumes no responsibility or liability for, the content, privacy policies, practices, Services or potential damages caused by the use of any third party web sites mentioned and linked to this Website.
You agree that You are solely responsible for Your interactions with any other User in connection with the Service and VCF will have no liability or responsibility with respect thereto.
For the Knowledge Exchange Platform, this includes disputes arising from forum discussions, uploaded content, or training evaluations.
VCF reserves the right, but has no obligation, to become involved in any way it deems necessary with disputes between You and any other User of the Service.
Your use of the Service is at Your sole risk. VCF expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.
VCF makes no warranty that:
(i) the Service will meet Your requirements,
(ii) the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free,
(iii) the results that may be obtained from the use of the Service will be accurate or reliable, or
(iv) the quality of any products, Services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by You through or in connection with the Service will meet Your expectations.
VCF makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, legality, or completeness of information shared by users within the Platform. Users are responsible for verifying the content before acting on it.
You agree to release, indemnify and hold VCF and its affiliates and their officers, employees, directors and agents (collectively, “Indemnitees”) harmless from any from any and all losses, damages, expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, rights, claims, actions of any kind and injury (including death) arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, any User Content, your connection to the Service, your violation of these Terms of Service or your violation of any rights of another.
These Terms and Conditions may have been translated if We have made them available to You on our Service. You agree that the original English text shall prevail in the case of a dispute.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time.
If You have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.
V.2 [Last updated on 10 February 2026]
The Vulture Conservation Foundation (“VCF“, “we“, “us“, “our“, “Organisation“), is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to the conservation of Europe’s vulture species. It is the coordinating beneficiary of the WildLIFE Crime Academy project.
Thank You for choosing to learn more about our project and wildlife crim by visiting www.wildlifecrimeacademy.eu (the “Website”).
The purpose of this Website includes, but is not limited to:
We here at the VCF greatly appreciate the support of individuals like You to carry out our vital conservation work. That is why we wish to be completely transparent about why we need the personal details we request when engaging with us and how we will use them. We are committed to protecting Your personal information and Your right to privacy. If You have any questions or concerns about this privacy notice, or our practices with regards to Your personal information, please contact us.
In this privacy notice, we seek to explain to the User (“User“, “You“, “Your” means a person, organization or entity accessing or using the Website) in the clearest way possible what information we collect, how we use it and what rights You have in relation to it when You visit our Website or the Knowledge Exchange Platform, and more generally, use any of our Services (the “Services“, which include the Website). Please take some time to read through it carefully, as it is important. If there are any terms in this privacy notice that You do not agree with, please discontinue use of our Services immediately.
The Knowledge Exchange Platform involves additional data processing activities, including user registration, management of individual profiles, role-based access to training materials and forum discussions, and interaction between Users. This privacy notice therefore includes specific information on how personal data is collected, stored, shared, and protected within the Platform.
Please take some time to read through it carefully, as it is important. If there are any terms in this privacy notice that You do not agree with, please discontinue use of our Services immediately.
This privacy notice applies to all information collected through our Services, as well as, any related Services, communication or events.
Personal information You disclose to us:
We collect personal information that You voluntarily provide to us when You express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when You participate in activities on the Website, when You register for the knowledge exchange platform, when you participate in a training course or otherwise when You contact us.
The personal information that we collect depends on the context of Your interactions with us and the Website, the choices You make and the products and features You use. The personal information we collect may include the following:
Personal Information Provided by You:
We collect names; phone numbers; email addresses; mailing addresses; contact preferences; country of residence; profession or role; cohort or training level; and other similar information.
Knowledge Exchange Platform-Specific Data:
**When registering for or using the WildLIFE Crime Academy platform and/or registering for a training course, we also collect data required to create and manage Your profile/ participation, such as:
1. name, country, email address,
2. profession and expertise area,
3. cohort assignment,
4. training level achieved,
5. t-shirt, trousers and vest size (visible only to admins),
6. user’s photo
7. ID card number or other form of identification (visible only to admins),
8. profile biography,
9. activity history within the platform, including posts, uploads, and feedback.**
Certain parts of Your profile information may be visible to other registered users, for example, your name, country, training level, and professional expertise, to enable interaction, collaboration, and learning within the platform. Sensitive fields such as ID card number and t-shirt size will remain strictly private and visible only to administrators.
Certain information is required to create and manage Platform accounts. If required information is not provided, we may not be able to grant or maintain access to the Platform or related training services.
You directly provide Our Organisation with most of the data we collect. We collect data and process data when You:
All personal information that You provide to us must be true, complete and accurate, and You must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
Information automatically collected
Our Organisation may also receive personal data automatically and indirectly through the use of certain technologies and third-party services, including the following:
1. Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to collect information about how Users interact with the Website, such as pages visited, approximate location, device and browser information, and usage patterns. This information helps us understand Website usage and improve functionality.
Where required by law, Google Analytics is used only with User consent, which can be managed via the cookie settings on the Website. Users may also opt out of Google Analytics through tools provided by Google.
2. Cookies and consent management (e.g. CookieYes)
We use a cookie consent management tool to record and manage Users’ consent preferences regarding cookies and similar technologies. This tool may automatically collect information such as consent status, date and time of consent, cookie categories accepted or rejected, and limited technical information (such as IP address and browser data) for compliance and record-keeping purposes.
Users can review, modify, or withdraw their consent at any time using the cookie settings available on the Website.
3. Security and performance services (e.g. Cloudflare)
We use security and performance services, such as Cloudflare, to protect the Website and ensure its secure and reliable operation. These services may process technical data such as IP addresses, device information, and request metadata for security, performance optimisation, and abuse prevention purposes. Such providers act as service providers processing technical data on our behalf.
4. Abuse and spam prevention (Google reCAPTCHA)
We use Google reCAPTCHA on certain forms and access points to help protect the Website and Platform from automated abuse and spam. reCAPTCHA may automatically process technical, device, and interaction data (such as IP address and browser characteristics) in accordance with Google’s privacy policies.
We process personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Depending on the context, these legal bases include:
We use the information we collect or receive:
We do not use personal data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal effects or similarly significant effects on Users.
We only share personal information where necessary and in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including where:
Access to personal data is limited to authorised individuals and service providers and is granted strictly on a need-to-know basis.
Internal Access
Platform administrators, moderators, and designated teachers may have access to certain User data where necessary to:
All such individuals are subject to confidentiality obligations.
Third-Party Service Providers
We use selected third-party service providers to support the operation, security, communication, and compliance of our Website and Services. These providers process personal data on our behalf and only in accordance with our instructions and applicable data protection laws.
Such service providers may include:
The VCF securely stores Your data on password-protected computer systems.
We keep Your information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.
If You request account deletion or withdrawal from the WildLIFE Crime Academy platform, Your personal data will be deleted within a reasonable period, except where retention is legally required.
However:
We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.
The VCF would like to send You information about the work and campaigns relevant to our project that we think You might be interested in, as well as those of our relevant partners.
If You have agreed to receive marketing (such as email newsletter), You may always opt out at a later date.
Our Organisation would like to make sure You are fully aware of all of Your data protection rights. Every User is entitled to the following:
The Vulture Conservation Foundation (“VCF”) implements appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction, in accordance with Article 32 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
These measures include, where appropriate:
VCF also uses security and anti-abuse technologies, such as Google reCAPTCHA, to prevent automated misuse, and Elementor Site Mailer to support the reliable delivery of transactional and administrative emails. Such services may process limited technical information in accordance with their own privacy policies.
While VCF implements safeguards designed to protect personal data, Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their login credentials and must take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access to their accounts. This does not affect VCF’s obligations under applicable data protection laws.
No method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure. Accordingly, VCF cannot guarantee absolute security of personal data.
In the event of a personal data breach, VCF will assess the incident in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Where a breach is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, VCF will, without undue delay:
Where notification is not legally required, VCF will document the breach and any remedial actions taken, in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, Services, or applicable legal requirements. The “Last updated” date will be revised accordingly. Where required by law, Users will be informed of material changes.
For privacy-related questions or requests, please contact us using the contact form available on our Website. Please indicate that your request relates to data protection or privacy so that it can be handled appropriately.