Dead swans 'need to be tested for bird flu'

Sue Mitchell fears bird flu is behind the death of several swans at Oulton Broad

A wildlife enthusiast is concerned bird flu could be behind the deaths of several swans near an inland waterway and testing needs to be carried out.

At least four carcasses have been found at Oulton Broad near Lowestoft, Suffolk, over the past three weeks, which Sue Mitchell feared could be a result of the disease.

She reported the birds to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), but it had not been able to get to the birds.

East Suffolk Council told the BBC its teams would collect them and inform Defra afterwards.

"They said they would collect it and test it, or at least the first one, but it hasn't happened," Ms Mitchell said.

However, she was told that due to the location of the birds close to the water, Defra's teams would be unable to access them.

She was instead encouraged to contact the council, but feared if the birds were not collected and had died of bird flu, it could spread to others.

"They need to take action; they ask the public to report it," she said.

"There's people having their whole flocks of chickens culled because of bird flu and then we've got these instances here and nobody is acting at all."

Paul Rice said he had counted 72 swans at Oulton Broad this year compared to last year's 50

Paul Rice is the yacht station manager for the council at Oulton Broad and said the swan population numbers had recently increased.

He was aware of the reports, but had not received any request "to deal with them in the way we normally would with bird flu" and could not comment on their cause of death without tests.

"The swans that I've seen, especially the ones in this area which we see on a regular basis, look as healthy as I've ever seen them," he said.

East Suffolk Council said it was handling the carcasses

A council spokesperson said: "East Suffolk Services will collect the [remaining] swan carcass. This is in hand. Once collected Defra will be informed."

When approached for comment Defra pointed out its Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carried out year-round surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols, but not all dead birds would be collected.

APHA also publishes a weekly report on bird flu findings in wild birds and members of the public are encouraged to report dead wild birds either online or by calling Defra's helpline.