Members of the public were reportedly told by authorities to pick up and bin dead birds despite an ongoing avian flu outbreak.
The world is currently facing its largest-ever outbreak of bird flu and officials warned earlier this month that the virus is spreading to other mammals.
The current risk to humans is low, according to the World Health Organisation, but experts have warned the public that this might not remain the case.
Official guidance issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) tells people who find dead birds to report it and not pick the animals up.
But a woman told MailOnline that call handlers at the “overwhelmed” service advised them to put any carcasses they discovered in the bin.
Wendy Hermon, operations director at the charity Swan Support, which rescues and treats sick and injured swans, called Defra in December to inform it of two dead birds in the Thames Valley area.
She said she “highly suspected” that the bird had died from avian flu.
Ms Hermon said a call handler told her to dispose of the birds “in a bin” if authorities had not been called out within 48 hours.
She said she was told that this was because workers were “so busy”.
Ms Hermon claimed other people told her they’d had similar experiences.
Defra advice states that people should contact them if they find one or more dead bird of prey, gull, swan, goose or duck in the same place or five or more dead wild birds of any other species in the same place.
A spokesperson for Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency said: “We are clear that members of the public should not touch dead wild birds, as set out in our guidance published on gov.uk.
“Members of the public should use the online reporting system or call the Defra helpline if they find one or more dead wild bird of prey, gull, swan, goose or duck or five or more dead wild birds of any species.
“Local authorities are responsible for the disposal of dead birds on public land.”
Hundreds of avian flu cases have been reported in birds since the latest outbreak began in October 2021, with millions culled by farmers in a bid to prevent the disease from spreading.
Cases have been reported in Cheshire, Fife, the Shetland Isles, the Isle of Skye and Cornwall.
Foxes and otters have been infected with the virus. It’s believed they picked it up by eating infected birds.
Bird flu has led to the deaths of around 208 million birds worldwide.
There have been 171 confirmed cases of bird flu in the UK since 1 October last year, according to Defra’s most recent data.
