Dead herons found on the Helford Estuary have sparked concerns over avian influenza.

Shared today by the Marine Strandings Network after they were made aware of several dead egrets.

The egrets have also been reported to Defra as the risk of incursion of avian influenza has been increased to "very high" for wild birds and "medium" for poultry with high biosecurity and high for poultry with poor biosecurity, the Marine Strandings Network announced.

A spokesperson for MSN said:

"If you find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or other dead wild birds, such as gulls or birds of prey, you should report them to the Defra helpline (03459 33 55 77 - please select option 7).

"Defra will collect some of these birds and test them to help them understand how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of bird, not all birds will be collected.

"Do not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds that you find."

Click here for more information.

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