Terms of Service

1. About Us and Contact Details

1.1 The SYLVA deer management application (the “App”) and the related services (together, the “Services”) are operated by Sylva Deer and Veterinary Services Limited (company number 15283688), a company incorporated in England and Wales, with its registered office at 17 Chilworth Close, Nuneaton CV11 4XE (the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our”).

1.2 Contact details: sylva@sylvadeer.co.uk. Postal address: 17 Chilworth Close, Nuneaton CV11 4XE.

2. Acceptance of these Terms

2.1 These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) form a legally binding agreement between you and us. By downloading, accessing, creating an account for, or using the App or Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

2.2 If you do not accept these Terms, you must not access or use the App or Services.

2.3 These Terms incorporate by reference our Privacy Policy, which also covers cookies and similar technologies (the “Policy”). Where there is a conflict between these Terms and the Policy, these Terms will prevail in relation to your use of the App and Services.

3. Eligibility, UK-only Availability, and Account Authority

3.1 You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a binding contract to use the App.

3.2 The App is made available only to users located in the United Kingdom and is intended for use only in the UK. You confirm that you are using the App within the UK.

3.3 If you use the App on behalf of a business, estate, organisation or other entity, you confirm that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and references to “you” include that entity.

3.4 The App is intended only for users who are legally permitted to participate in hunting, deer management, conservation and related activities. You are solely responsible for ensuring your activities are lawful.

3.5 All account holders and users of the App must be at least 18 years old. The App is not intended for use by, or to create accounts for, anyone under 18.

3.6 Where any activity organised or recorded through the App involves a person under 18 (for example a young person participating in accompanied stalking where lawful), the relevant adult users are solely responsible for ensuring such participation is lawful and appropriately supervised. You must not create an account for a minor, and you must not upload personal data relating to a minor without an appropriate lawful basis and any necessary consent.

4. Definitions

In these Terms:

“Activity Data” means data recorded by you relating to hunting and deer management activities, including outcomes, animal characteristics, observations, and locations.

“Aggregated Data” means anonymised and aggregated statistical data derived from User Content and Activity Data such that it does not identify you (or any individual).

“Booking” means a request or arrangement recorded in the App to schedule deer stalking, hunting or deer management activity by a Stalker at a specified estate or location, on a specified date and time period.

“Booking Confirmation” means the act by which a Landowner accepts or acknowledges a Booking within the App.

“Check-in Notification” means an optional, informational notification that a Stalker may send through the App to indicate that they have arrived at, are present at, or are leaving an estate or location.

“Deer Manager” means a user acting in a management, supervisory, organisational or administrative role within a team or organisation.

“Landowner” means a user who owns, occupies, controls or manages access to land or an estate and who may receive, confirm or decline Bookings through the App.

“Location Sharing” means any feature allowing a user to share real-time or approximate location with other users.

“Stalker” means a user who carries out deer stalking, hunting or deer management activity, including as part of a team organised by a Deer Manager.

“Subscription” means a paid subscription plan giving access to features or usage limits as described at purchase.

“User Content” means all data, text, images, photographs, videos and other content you submit or upload through the App.

Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

5. Description of the Services

5.1 The App provides digital tools intended to assist with deer population management, hunting organisation and conservation record-keeping.

5.2 Features may include (without limitation):

(a) recording hunting sessions and outcomes;
(b) recording animal biological and post-mortem data;
(c) uploading photographs and documentation;
(d) generating statistics, summaries and reports;
(e) shared calendars and collaboration tools;
(f) Location Sharing functionality; and
(g) booking, scheduling and coordination tools for organising activity between Deer Managers, Stalkers and Landowners.

5.3 We may modify, suspend, discontinue, add or remove features or parts of the Services at any time. Where required by law, or where the change materially disadvantages consumers, we will provide reasonable notice.

6. Accounts and Security

6.1 Certain features require an account. You agree to provide accurate, current and complete information and keep it updated.

6.2 You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities occurring under your account.

6.3 Accounts are personal and non-transferable unless we agree otherwise in writing (for example, enterprise arrangements).

6.4 You must promptly notify us of any suspected unauthorised access or security breach relating to your account.

7. End User Licence (EULA) — Licence to Use the App

7.1 Licence grant. Subject to your compliance with these Terms and (where applicable) payment of the Subscription fees, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable and revocable licence to download, install and use the App on compatible devices, solely for lawful purposes consistent with these Terms.

7.2 No transfer of ownership. The App is licensed, not sold. All intellectual property rights in and to the App and Services (excluding User Content) belong to us and/or our licensors. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

7.3 Restrictions. You must not (and must not attempt to):

(a) copy, modify, distribute, sell, lease, or sublicense the App;
(b) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or attempt to extract source code or underlying ideas, except to the extent permitted by law that cannot be excluded by contract;
(c) circumvent security, access controls, usage limits or technical restrictions;
(d) use the App for illegal activities, including poaching or unlicensed hunting;
(e) use the App in a manner that breaches any applicable law (including firearms, wildlife, environmental, animal health or food safety law);
(f) use the App to develop or support a competing product or service; or
(g) upload malware or engage in conduct that disrupts or harms the App or Services.

7.4 We may suspend or terminate your licence and access in accordance with these Terms if you breach these restrictions.

8. Subscriptions, Billing and Payment

8.1 Certain features require a paid Subscription. Subscription plans, prices, billing periods, included features and any usage limits will be shown to you before purchase.

8.2 Billing and renewal. Subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis and renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date.

8.3 Payment processing. Payments may be processed via a third-party platform (including an app store). Their terms may also apply, including cancellation and refund processes where purchases are made through them.

8.4 Price changes. We may change Subscription pricing. Where you are a consumer, we will provide reasonable notice of price changes before they take effect at renewal, giving you the opportunity to cancel.

8.5 Failure to pay. If payment fails, we may suspend access to paid features until payment is successfully completed.

9. Cancellation and Refunds

9.1 You can cancel your Subscription at any time using the method made available in the App, your account settings, or the platform through which you subscribed.

9.2 Unless required by law or expressly stated at purchase, cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period and fees already paid are not refundable.

9.3 Consumer cancellation rights. If you are a consumer, you may have statutory rights to cancel within 14 days of purchase under UK consumer protection law. Where you request immediate access to digital content/services, you may be required to acknowledge that you will lose that right once the supply begins, to the extent permitted by law.

9.4 Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory consumer rights.

10. User Content and Activity Data

10.1 Your ownership. You retain ownership of your User Content.

10.2 Licence to us. By submitting User Content, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to host, store, reproduce, process, transmit, display and use your User Content solely to:

(a) operate and provide the Services to you and users you authorise;
(b) maintain, secure and improve the Services; and
(c) comply with legal obligations and enforce these Terms.

This licence includes the right to use service providers (e.g., hosting providers) to deliver the Services.

10.3 Aggregated Data. We own all Aggregated Data and derived statistical outputs generated from the Services, provided such data is anonymised and does not identify you personally.

10.4 Your responsibility. You are solely responsible for ensuring your User Content is lawful, accurate (to the extent you can reasonably ensure), and does not infringe third-party rights (including privacy, intellectual property or confidentiality).

10.5 We do not routinely review or verify User Content. We may remove, restrict, or disable access to User Content if we reasonably believe it breaches these Terms or the law.

10.6 Where your User Content (including photographs) contains personal data of, or identifies, other individuals (for example other hunters, landowners or members of the public), you are responsible for ensuring you have a lawful basis to capture, upload and share that content and that you comply with applicable data protection law. You must not upload content containing other people’s personal data without an appropriate lawful basis or, where required, their consent.

11. Collaboration Tools and Team Management

11.1 The App may allow collaboration between users (including shared calendars, shared records, and team-based access).

11.2 If you invite others to view or collaborate on your data, you are responsible for ensuring you have the necessary authority and that you share data only with people you intend to access it.

11.3 We are not responsible for what other users do with information you share with them via the App.

11.4 Roles and access. The App may provide different roles (for example Deer Manager, Stalker and Landowner) with different levels of access to data and functionality. A Deer Manager may be able to view, organise, manage or access data relating to Stalkers within their team or organisation, and may create Bookings on their behalf.

11.5 Where you act as a Deer Manager, you are responsible for:

(a) ensuring you have authority to manage the relevant users and their data;
(b) using any data you can access only for legitimate deer management and organisational purposes; and
(c) complying with applicable data protection law in respect of any personal data of Stalkers or others that you access through the App.

11.6 We are not responsible for how a Deer Manager, Stalker, Landowner or any other user accesses, uses, shares or discloses data made available to them through the App’s roles and collaboration features.

12.1 Location Sharing is optional and can be activated or deactivated by users via device/app permissions and App settings.

12.2 You acknowledge that location data may be delayed, inaccurate, unavailable, or affected by device settings, connectivity, GPS reception, or other factors outside our control.

12.3 Not a safety or emergency system. Location Sharing is provided for informational and coordination purposes only and must not be relied upon as a safety, emergency, or tracking system.

12.4 To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any accidents, injuries, loss or damage arising from reliance on Location Sharing or any collaboration feature.

13. Bookings, Reservations and Landowner Confirmations

13.1 The App may provide functionality allowing a Deer Manager to record and organise Bookings, to send Bookings to a Landowner for confirmation, and to coordinate activity between Stalkers, Deer Managers and Landowners.

13.2 Facilitation only. The App provides scheduling, notification and record-keeping tools only. We are not a party to, and take no responsibility for, any arrangement, agreement, permission, booking or transaction between Stalkers, Deer Managers, Landowners or any other users. We do not arrange, broker, guarantee, supervise or verify any hunting activity, land access, or the relationship between users.

13.3 No payment processing. Any fees, payments or financial arrangements relating to hunting, land access or Bookings are made directly between the relevant users outside the App. We do not process, handle, collect, hold or facilitate any such payments, and we are not responsible for any payment dispute between users.

13.4 No grant of access rights. A Booking, a Booking Confirmation, or any record in the App does not constitute and must not be relied upon as a licence, permit, lease, authorisation, or any legal right to access land or to hunt. Responsibility for obtaining all necessary land access permissions, consents, licences and legal rights rests solely with the relevant users, outside the App.

13.5 Nature of a Booking Confirmation. A Booking Confirmation reflects only that, at the time of confirming, the Landowner has acknowledged and accepted the relevant Booking within the App. It does not constitute, and must not be relied upon as, confirmation or knowledge of: (a) whether a Stalker actually attends, enters or leaves the estate; (b) the Stalker’s location, presence or activity at any time; or (c) the safety, lawfulness or conduct of any activity. The existence and accuracy of a Booking Confirmation depend entirely on the Landowner taking the relevant action within the App.

13.6 Check-in Notifications are informational only. A Check-in Notification is optional and informational only and depends entirely on a Stalker choosing to send it. We do not guarantee that any Check-in Notification will be sent, received, accurate or timely. A Stalker’s failure to send a Check-in Notification, or any delay, inaccuracy or non-delivery, is not within our control and is not our responsibility.

13.7 Not a safety, emergency or tracking system. The Booking, Booking Confirmation and Check-in Notification features are provided for coordination and record-keeping purposes only. They must not be relied upon as a safety, emergency, monitoring or tracking system, or as a means of knowing the actual whereabouts, safety or status of any person at any time. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any accident, injury, loss or damage arising from reliance on these features, or from any user’s action or failure to act (including a failure to confirm a Booking or to send a Check-in Notification).

13.8 User responsibilities. Each user is responsible for ensuring that the Bookings, confirmations and information they record are accurate and that they have authority to make them. Landowners are responsible for their own decisions to confirm or decline Bookings. Deer Managers are responsible for the Bookings they create and the Stalkers they organise. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any user.

13.9 Data shared through Bookings. To enable a Booking and Booking Confirmation, certain information about a Stalker (which may include their name, telephone number and vehicle registration) may be shared with the relevant Landowner and Deer Manager. By using the booking functionality, you authorise this sharing for the purpose of coordinating and confirming the relevant activity. Each user receiving such information must use it only for that purpose and in accordance with applicable data protection law.

13.10 Landowner obligations. Where you act as a Landowner, you agree that:

(a) you will confirm or decline Bookings in good faith and based on your own decision;
(b) a Booking Confirmation reflects only your acknowledgement and acceptance of the Booking within the App, and does not make you responsible for monitoring or verifying a Stalker’s actual attendance, location or conduct;
(c) you will use any personal data of a Stalker made available to you (including their name, telephone number and vehicle registration) solely for the purpose of coordinating and managing the relevant Booking, and in accordance with applicable data protection law; and
(d) you are responsible for ensuring you have authority over the relevant land and for any permissions or decisions relating to access.

14. Hunting, Firearms, Wildlife and Environmental Compliance

14.1 You represent and warrant that your use of the App and Services complies with all applicable UK hunting, firearms, wildlife, environmental and conservation laws and regulations, including any licensing and permissions required.

14.2 The App does not replace any licence, permit, authorisation, training, risk assessment or legal compliance obligations.

15. Veterinary, Health, Sanitary and Reporting Disclaimer

15.1 The App does not provide veterinary, medical, sanitary, epidemiological or regulatory advice.

15.2 Post-mortem observations and health-related data entered in the App do not replace official inspections, laboratory testing, or mandatory reporting obligations.

15.3 We do not monitor, validate or assess health-related entries for regulatory reporting, and we assume no obligation to identify or notify disease risks or outbreaks.

15.4 You remain solely responsible for complying with applicable animal health, food safety and wildlife disease obligations.

15.5 Some signs, symptoms or diseases in deer or other animals may be notifiable or reportable under UK animal health, wildlife or food safety law. You are solely responsible for identifying and complying with any such reporting or notification obligations.

15.6 The App does not detect, assess, flag or report notifiable or reportable diseases. Recording an observation, symptom or post-mortem finding in the App does not satisfy any legal reporting obligation, and we assume no obligation to identify, monitor, escalate or notify any disease, outbreak or health risk to you or any authority.

15.7 Where deer or game meat is sold, supplied or enters the human food chain, additional legal obligations may apply (including food safety, hygiene, traceability and game handling requirements). The App does not address, verify or ensure compliance with any such obligations. Recording economic, sale or meat-related information in the App does not satisfy any food safety or traceability obligation, which remains solely your responsibility.

16. Economic and Fiscal Disclaimer

16.1 The App does not provide accounting, tax or financial advice.

16.2 You are solely responsible for compliance with any tax, reporting, commercial and regulatory requirements relating to your activities and any economic data recorded in the App.

16.3 Where economic data relates to deer or game meat that is sold, supplied or enters the human food chain, additional obligations may apply as described in clause 15.7.

17. No Professional Advice

17.1 The Services and their outputs (including statistics, reports and visualisations) are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, environmental, veterinary or other professional advice.

17.2 Any decisions made using data or outputs from the App are at your sole discretion and risk.

18. Acceptable Use

18.1 You must not use the App to:

(a) facilitate illegal hunting, poaching, or trespass;
(b) harass, endanger or unlawfully track others;
(c) upload unlawful, abusive, defamatory, infringing, or misleading content; or
(d) interfere with the App, Services, or other users’ lawful use.

18.2 We may suspend or terminate your access where we reasonably believe you have breached this clause.

19. Availability, Updates and Maintenance

19.1 We do not guarantee that the App or Services will be available at all times or without interruption.

19.2 We may deploy updates, patches or new versions. You may need to install updates to continue using the App or to maintain security and functionality.

20. Disclaimer of Warranties

20.1 The App and Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

20.2 To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

20.3 We do not warrant that the App will be error-free, secure, uninterrupted, or that outputs will be accurate, complete or suitable for your purposes.

20.4 Consumers: Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits your statutory rights under applicable consumer law.

21. Limitation of Liability

21.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under UK law.

21.2 Subject to clause 21.1, and to the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, including loss of profits, revenue, business, business opportunity, goodwill, or data.

21.3 Subject to clause 21.1, our total aggregate liability to you for all claims in any 12-month period will not exceed the total Subscription fees paid by you in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

21.4 You acknowledge that hunting and outdoor activities are inherently hazardous, and you assume all risks associated with your activities. We are not responsible for your conduct, decisions, or compliance with law.

22. Indemnity

22.1 If you are using the App as a business user, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Company from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

(a) your breach of these Terms;
(b) your unlawful use of the App;
(c) your User Content; or
(d) your activities (including hunting and firearms use).

22.2 This clause does not apply to the extent prohibited by law for consumers.

23. Suspension and Termination

23.1 We may suspend or terminate your access to the App and Services immediately if you breach these Terms or if we reasonably believe your use is unlawful or poses risk to other users, the public, or our systems.

23.2 Upon termination, your right to use the App ceases immediately.

23.3 Termination does not affect any rights or obligations accrued prior to termination, and clauses intended to survive termination will survive (including licence restrictions, IP, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity, and governing law).

23.4 Data following termination. Following termination or closure of your account, we may retain, delete or anonymise your User Content and Activity Data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law. We may retain certain data where required for legal, regulatory, security or legitimate business purposes, and we may retain Aggregated Data. Where an export option is available, you are responsible for exporting or retaining your own copy of any data you wish to keep before your account is closed.

24. Changes to These Terms

24.1 We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms and update the “Last updated” date.

24.2 If changes materially affect consumers’ rights or obligations, we will provide reasonable notice via the App or by email (where we have it).

24.3 Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

25. Privacy and Data Protection

25.1 We process personal data in accordance with the Policy and applicable UK data protection law (including UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).

25.2 You are responsible for ensuring that any personal data you upload or share through the App is handled lawfully and with appropriate permissions.

26. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

26.1 These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

26.2 The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory consumer rights to bring proceedings in local courts where applicable.

27. General Provisions

27.1 Severability: If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

27.2 No Waiver: Failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that right.

27.3 Assignment: We may assign or transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms. You may not assign your rights without our written consent.

27.4 Entire Agreement: These Terms and the Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the App and Services.

27.5 Language: If these Terms are provided in more than one language, the English version shall prevail.