Wildfowlers in the East of England will be on the frontline of the UK's avian flu monitoring programme this year.A team of 20 wildfowlers, who are members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), will be taking samples from birds which have been legally shot, at sites in Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Wildfowlers in the East of England will be on the frontline of the UK's avian flu monitoring programme this year.

A team of 20 wildfowlers, who are members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), will be taking samples from birds which have been legally shot, at sites in Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

The early warning system is part of a programme involving the BASC, Defra, RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology, and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

The Defra helpline (08459 335577) will provide all information regarding avian influenza.