The ban carries a fine of P1,000 for first offenders, and R1,500 for recidivists plus confiscation of their nets and lamps.

Residents of this tourist town are at high risk of contracting the bird flu virus as they get in contact directly with migratory birds through ikik.

China, Japan, and other Asian countries have tested positive for avian influenza, thus birds migrating to escape the harsh winters in these countries are potential carriers of the dreaded virus.

Locals call these migratory birds "siteg," "tala," "balisoso," "pokaw" and "adogma."

Dr. Evelyn Capuyan, municipal health officer said Sagada is considered at risk of the avian flu with the residents catching these migratory birds for food.

Capuyan said the virus is transmitted to humans through close contact with infected birds and contact with water and surfaces contaminated with droppings of infected birds. The flapping of wings by these fowls hastens the transmission of the virus, Capuyan said.

Local barangay officials, especially from nearby Barangays Ambasing and Patay, take turn in blocking youngsters and bird catchers from going up Mt. Ampakaw.

A favorite pastime among the locals here especially from September to December, ikik is practiced at night with the use of nets and lighting devices. Birds caught are either cooked for viand or served as aperitif "pulutan."

The prohibition however seemed to have worked in reverse as it has fired the curiousity of some in bird catching.

Mary Bangawayan said his grandson was not enthusiastic in "mangkik" (going bird catching) at Mt. Ampakaw until town officials early last August prohibited the practice.

Capuyan said Sagada could help enforce the Wildlife Act, which prohibits collection of migratory birds regardless of purpose.

Experts said the restriction on the movement of poultry, both within and between countries, is an important control measure against bird flu.

The virus, N5N1, has killed at least 63 people in Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Patients develop common flu symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and cough, and severe respiratory diseases secondary to pneumonia.

World Health Organization representative to the Philippines Dr. Jean Marc Olive said in her advisory that direct or indirect contact of domestic flocks with wild migratory fowls is a frequent cause of epidemics in poultry.

The WHO representative warned that a bird flu pandemic is inevitable. A pandemic occurs when a new virus strain appears from which people have no immunity, causing simultaneous epidemics across the globe and enormous number of deaths.

A vaccine was produced against the virus that infected poultry in Hongkong in 1997. But this vaccine cannot be recommended to control the current bird flu epidemic since the virus has mutated, Olive said.