TAXPAYERS have paid £300,000 to prove that rain is nice weather for ducks.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) funded the work by scientists to work out whether or not the birds liked light showers.

Last night, critics branded the funding "quackers" and urged the Government to think more carefully about the use of public money. A three-year, £294,027 study was carried out to "ascertain the importance of bathing water to ducks by quantifying their motivation to gain access to water in which they can bathe".

It found that having offered a number of different water supplies to ducks – including a trough, pond, shower and nipple drinker – the birds favoured standing under a shower.

The research was aimed at ensuring ducks are properly treated when kept indoors on farms.

But there are no regulations planned which could require changes to the way farmers treat ducks.

Click here to read Matt Chorley's latest blog

An on-farm study found ducks given showers spent more than twice as long standing under the water while "resting" than with water in a bath, trough or nipple drinker. It was also found that those in showers drank a third more water.

Anthony Rew, Devon chairman of the NFU, said last night that the use of taxpayers' money on the research "just proves that Defra is quackers".

"They need to get out of London and get on a farm to see how the countryside works, to put policies in place that are practical and well-costed," he said.

He condemned plans by Defra to tax farmers on the animals they owned in order to meet the cost of dealing with disease outbreaks. "They are looking for farmers to help with costs – if they asked a farmer, they would tell them ducks like water," said Mr Rew.

The research was carried out by Oxford University scientists Marian Dawkins and Tracey Jones. Professor Dawkins told Farmers Weekly: "Ducks made it very clear – they love to shower. They used the showers far more than any other source of water we provided.

"Now further research will have to be undertaken to study their behaviour more closely in terms of how often showering facilities are required. We have now acquired a commercial partner to look more fully at the impact of bathing resources on the birds' health and welfare."

Future research will look at how often ducks use showers. "Is it something they use regularly and individually throughout the day or something they use en-masse for short periods?"

She added that the outcome would be "very important as commercial producers look at ways of providing an effective and clean water resource to enhance duck welfare".

Liberal Democrat MP Dan Rogerson, a member of Efra, the Commons committee which scrutinises Defra's work, said: "Although this proves once and for all the saying that rain really is nice weather for ducks, I am sure Defra – having had shortfalls in their budget – could have found better uses for money."

The North Cornwall MP added: "While I wish Prof Dawkins ongoing success with her research, I hope she will find other backers in future."

Tory MP Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon), who also sits on the Efra committee, said: "In times of national difficulty, it is always necessary to have some comic relief, and it is no surprise that Defra has obliged."

Susie Squire, campaign manager for the Taxpayers' Alliance which argues for lower taxes, branded the research a "bonkers waste of money".

"Ducks were around long before Defra and it is common sense that ducks like rain and water," she said. "The last thing the Government should be allocating scarce resources to is this sort of nonsense. Defra should take a long look at its use of public money. It should be ashamed."

The research was launched by Defra to "assess the welfare of ducks housed in systems currently used in the UK". It said there was "little information" available on the welfare of ducks kept in intensive systems.

The British Poultry Council said the research was the "first step" in ensuring ducks had an effective source of water.

A Defra spokesman said: "Consumers rightly expect that animals reared for human consumption are kept in appropriate and healthy conditions.

"The purpose of this research was to help determine the most appropriate method of providing water and maintaining hygiene in the duck-rearing industry."