The UAE has released 2,000 captive-bred houbara
bustards into the wild as part of its conservation programme in Kazakhstan,
just weeks after it was reported a Saudi prince reportedly killed almost the
same number of the highly endangered birds during a hunting trip in Pakistan.
The UAE’s International Fund for Houbara
Conservation (IFHC) transported the 2,000 birds by plane to Shymkent in
Kazakhstan, close to the Sheikh Khalifa Houbara Breeding Centre, the WAM news
agency said.
As part of the largest ever single release of the
species in the wild, 93 of the birds were fitted with GPS satellite tracking
devices, which will provide vital data about migration and survival of the
endangered birds.
The IFHC, based in Abu Dhabi, breeds about 40,000
Asian and North African houbara bustards each year under a breeding program at
Al Ain Zoo.
Mohamed Saleh Al Baidani, director-general of IFHC,
said: “This is a very significant day in the history of Houbara
conservation. Previously we have only carried out small-scale experimental
releases in Kazakhstan in order to learn more about the migration and habits of
the Houbara, but a release on this scale takes our efforts onto to a completely
new level.”
The initiative comes just weeks after it was
reported a Saudi prince reportedly killed 1977 houbara bustards during a
three-week hunting trip in Pakistan.
The houbara bustard is a famed bird on the Arabian
Peninsula, which bedouins have for centuries hunted as a vital source of meat.
It is now forbidden to hunt the endangered bird in
most countries, including Pakistan, although the Dawn News website said the
government had been known to issue hunting permits to certain Arab dignitaries.
The permit allows for hunters to kill up to 100
bustards in allocated areas but the Saudi prince reportedly violated the permit
by hunting in reserved and protected regions and killing hundreds more than
permitted during his safari in late January.
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