DEAD birds have been found at a Herefordshire nature reserve, prompting fears that bird flu has already hit Herefordshire this winter.

The county was affected by avian flu in the winter of 2021-22, with outbreaks confirmed at several farms, including in Shobdon, near Leominster, and Eastnor, near Ledbury.

No outbreaks have so far been confirmed in the county this year, but there is a control zone in force around Leigh Sinton, between Hereford and Worcester, to try and stop the disease from spreading.

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This is in addition to another zone covering the country in a bid to keep outbreaks to a minimum.

Bodenham Lake Nature Reserve, between Hereford and Leominster and run by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, said it did not yet have confirmation if bird flu was affecting the site, but dead birds had been found.

A spokesperson said it is a "very worrying time" with a "worldwide pandemic of avian flu having a devastating effect on UK birds".

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"The tragic effects of the disease are being seen around the UK with reports of thousands of dying and sick birds from Northumberland to the Isles of Scilly.

We don't yet have confirmation that avian flu is present in birds at Bodenham Lake but we have found a small number of dead birds in the last couple of months and these have been taken for testing by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)."

To combat bird flu, wildlife trusts across the country are calling for a new, less intensive, approach to poultry farming.

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They also want a national strategy to help wild bird populations recover, clearer Defra guidance on wild bird carcass removal and disposal in high-risk areas and effective monitoring, surveillance, research and reporting systems in place to build real-time understanding of the virus and its progress in wild birds.

They also want to see resilience built into vulnerable populations through recovery and conservation measures, a government ban on releasing large numbers of non-native gamebirds when avian flu is present across the country, more investment into how and why this is happening and more resources for wildlife and nature charities to help with monitoring and tackling the problem.