First Houbara bustard release in Libya

Houbara reared in captivity. Credit EWCP.

March 2009. 209 (102 males and 107 females) houbara bustards have been released in Libya. The bustards had been produced in captivity in 2008 at the Emirates Center for Wildlife Propagation, in Missour, Morocco.

H.E. Mohammed Al Bowardi, Deputy Chairman of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, said that the Houbara release is part of the UAE efforts to protect the Asiatic Houbara and to increase its declining population in its geographic distribution in Asia and North Africa. The Houbara is under threat due to the destruction of its wintering and breeding habitat, over-trapping, over-hunting and illegal trade.

Emirates Centre for Wildlife Propagation (ECWP) has succeeded in breeding more than 8,000 Houbara and released more than 5,000 in 2008. The release scope has also been extended to cover all neighbouring countries, particularly Algeria and Libya.

EWCP Houbara breeding facility.

In November 2008, the birds were transferred by plane to a natural reserve in Libya, about 25 kilometres from the city of Sirte, east of Tripoli, and they were kept in aviaries for pre-release preparation for four weeks. At the end of this period the birds were released by opening the aviaries.

About the International Fund for Houbara Conservation
The International Fund for Houbara Conservation was recently established by Abu Dhabi Government. It aims to preserve the future of the Houbara in the wild and to continue the efforts already done by Abu Dhabi's National Avian Research Centre and the Emirates Centre for Wildlife Propagation in Morocco.

Efforts to conserve the houbara in the UAE began as early as 1977. The late President of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan directed that Al Ain Zoo begin a breeding programme for the Asian Houbara Bustard, even before the population reached a 'vulnerable' status in the endangered data list. In 1982, the first captive chick saw daylight in the UAE.