UAE releases 1,000 Houbara Bustard in RYK in pursuit of conservation

May 12, 2018

In the presence of UAE Embassy in Islamabad and representatives of Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) Abu Dhabi and officials of Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries Department of the Punjab province and Pakistani media, the UAE released 1,000 Houbara birds in Rahim Yar Khan as part of its constant pursuit and efforts of preservation, and an achievement of the United Arab Emirates.

On this occasion H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Zaabi, the UAE Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, said that the UAE has achieved a distinguished position on global level in its efforts to conserve the Houbara and its leading role been recognized in this field. Family breeding projects have been launched in Abu Dhabi for more than 40 years, and have achieved outstanding results despite the difficulty in houbara’s captivity of producing for its distinguished habitate from other birds that can be multiplied in captivity. On this occasion, the Ambassador said that the UAE is the first country in the world to track Houbara birds through satellites during their migrating from north to south, founder of the United Arab Emirates, at that time the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, sensed the dangers for Houbara, and he began to warn that if we do not initiate the successful ways to protect this rare species, the Houbara will eventually become extinct and will disappear from our heritage and the future of our children.

Al Zaabi revealed that the story of the success of Abu Dhabi’s efforts in breeding Houbara, specifically in 1977, and of the Al-Ain Zoo, with no more than seven Asian Houbaras, was the first nucleus of captive breeding in the United Arab Emirates. After prolong efforts to lay the foundations for captivity breeding programs with a firm and strong determination for several years, the first Asian chick was successfully produced in captivity in 1982.

H.E. recalled that H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan described this remarkable moment as saying: ‘If I forget, I will not forget that day when this good news conveyed to the late Sheikh Zayed and the feelings of human beings and the joy that filled his life as the promising results fruited that this rare bird will begin to multiply in the heart of the UAE’s vibrant environment. His Highness stressed that the UAE’s keenness to raise, study and preserve Houbara comes from a sense of responsibility, as Houbara defines the ancient heritage and deeply rooted history for more than two thousand years and a genuine tendency to preserve one of the pillars of our national heritage, which we inherited from our parents and grandparents, therefore, preserving it is a safeguard for species and for this ancient heritage and authentic traditions, and it is only adopted by those of thought and determination.

Continued