About 6,000 Asian Houbaras have been released by the International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) in the UAE and other countries over the past breeding season.

 

The move is part of efforts to implement the Sheikh Khalifa reintroduction programme for Houbara and was in line with the vision of late Sheikh Zayed to have Houbara birds reintroduced. Mohammed Saleh Al Baidani, the director general of the IFHC, said that 3,000 Houbaras have been released at 28 sites in Abu Dhabi and Dubai this season, compared to 1,612 released at 11 sites in the previous season.

 

Additionally, 1,549 Houbaras were released in Kazakhstan and 600 in the Lal Souhanra National Park in Pakistan.

 

In the GCC region, the IFHC sent 525 Houbara birds for release in Kuwait and 249 in Bahrain.