Abu Dhabi: A houbara bustard was released from Al Aryam island after it was treated in captivity for minor injuries it sustained while flying in migration.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, witnessed the release of the bird after overseeing its treatment, as per directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Ethics and morality
"Falconry is a set of ethics and morality before it is a sport," said Shaikh Hamdan. He added that the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan set the example of conserving the wildlife in general and the houbara bustard species in particular.
Shaikh Hamdan also pledged full support to all the efforts to preserve the nature and its biodiversity giving special attention to the animals facing extinction.
He said the release of the bird is a lesson to all the falconers on how they have to be keen on the conservation of the bird.
The skill in falconry is not measured by the number of birds hunted, but also by kindness to animals and the keenness to preserve the balance of nature, Shaikh Hamdan noted.
The late Shaikh Zayed reminded us that human beings will not live on this planet alone by themselves, and that we have to coexist not only with other human beings but also with plants and animals, Shaikh Hamdan reminded.
Houbara are the favoured game for Arabian falconry, but wild houbara populations has been dwindling as a result of over-hunting and poaching.
The environment agency is presently conducting a captive breeding of the endangered species. The goal of this project is to breed houbara in captivity, as a contribution to a global strategy for houbara conservation.
