Hawkers of wild birds accosted

CANDABA, Pampanga — Alarmed by reports that wild birds are being caught and sold openly in this province, this town’s mayor, Jerry Pelayo, cruised the provincial highways the other day to confront the vendors and warned them that such birds could be carriers of the avian influenza virus.

"The fact that these bird catchers can openly sell birds, which are potential carriers of the bird flu virus, shows a major flaw in our bird flu prevention scheme," an irked Pelayo said after he led the arrest of some poachers caught selling two bird species along the national highway in the towns of Sta. Ana and Mexico.

Pelayo said the poachers were selling snipes, locally known as "wis," and plain bush hen or "tikling."

The vendors admitted catching the birds in Barangay Mapalad in Arayat town, where hundreds of migratory fowls have sought sanctuary. Locals consider the two bird species as delicacies.

While the two species are not migratory, Pelayo said they are known to mingle with migratory birds.

He said the poachers sell the birds to motorists for P25 each.

"Bird hunters are liable under the law. The Pampanga Mayors’ League has passed Resolution No. 24 which prohibits the hunting, poaching and vending of resident, rare, or migratory birds in the whole province," he said.

Pelayo quoted one of the bird vendors as saying that he regularly catches birds in the towns of San Simon and Arayat and in some parts of Bulacan, believing that the fowls are safe from bird flu.

"We have been doing this for a long time and it has been our sole source of livelihood," the vendor told Pelayo.

Pelayo warned the vendors that they would be jailed the next time they are caught selling birds.

He advised them to refrain from having direct contact with wild birds, whether they are migratory or not.

He also urged local officials in Pampanga to provide bird vendors with alternative livelihood.

"Bird flu prevention is no joke. The government is dead serious in keeping the country free of the deadly strain of the virus," he said.

Pelayo is one of the local officials at the forefront of the national government’s campaign to prevent a bird flu outbreak in the country.

The Candaba Swamp in his town now hosts some 100,000 migratory birds, forcing the municipal government to impose strict measures to prevent locals from having contact with them.

Pelayo was with President Arroyo during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea where, he said, she "presented the Philippines as a model in fighting the bird flu virus."