This explains what you need to know about how the Meadows Animal Healthcare website uses cookies, and how to choose to manage or remove them if you wish to do so.

Summary

A cookie is a small data file which are sent to a user’s computer or mobile phone from a website and are stored on the hard drive of the user’s device. They are helpful because they help to make a website work better for a user. Once you agree to having these files placed on your computer's hard drive, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. You can adjust your preferences at any time, but if you modify your browser setting to decline cookies this may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

Managing / Deleting Cookies

Internet browsers allow users to manage their cookies. They can set their devices to accept all cookies, to let them know when a cookie has been set, or never to receive cookies.
Each browser works in a different way: use the ‘Help’ menu in your browser to find out to change your cookie preferences. For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone you should refer to your handset manual. Please be aware that disabling cookies completely means that certain personalised features will not then be provided to that user and therefore they may not be able to make full use of all of the website’s features.

You can learn more about cookies and how to manage them at AboutCookies.org

Performance Cookies

Google Analytics:

Google sets cookies to help us accurately estimate the number of visitors to the website and volumes of usage. This to ensure that the service is available when you want it and fast.
These cookies are used to store information, such as what time your current visit occurred, whether you have been to the site before, and what site referred you to the web page. These cookies contain no personally identifiable information but they will use your computer's IP address to know from where in the world you are accessing the Internet. Google stores the information collected by these cookies on servers in the United States. Google may transfer this information to third-parties where required to do so by law, or where such third-parties process the information on Google's behalf.

These cookies are classed by the ICO as 'minimally intrusive'.
Cookie Names - __utma, __utmb, __utmc, __utmv, __utmz

Data Stored - A random unique number or string of letters and numbers to identify your browser, the times and dates that you interacted with the site recently and the marketing materials or referring pages that led you to the site.

Expiry - The longest lasting cookie expires 2 years after your last visit to the website. Others are deleted 6 months, 30 minutes and the moment you close your browser.