While certain people may have made light of hunters handling dead birds, as national coach of the Malta Canoe Federation I would like to advise any of our members or independent canoeists coming across any dead waterfowl to leave these birds alone.

Due to their proximity to coastal areas, Maltese canoeists are likely to come across dead waterfowl and many have found the statements by the hunters' federation confusing with the possibility of leading to members of the public handling infected dead birds in an inappropriate manner. On no account are canoeists being advised to retrieve dead birds with or without rubber gloves.

It is suggested that those canoeists who wish to help will simply make a note of the position and number of any dead birds and alert the authorities once ashore.

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