Abu Dhabi Houbara programme hits 1.1 million bird milestone ahead of ADIHEX

Abu Dhabi’s International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) and Ekthar will present 49 years of ecological results at the 23rd Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) starting on Friday, 28 August. The exhibition, held at the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, serves as the primary platform to disclose new production data and tracking technologies for the migratory bird species. Production hits 1.1 million birds The Sheikh Zayed Houbara Conservation Programme, launched in 1977, reported that it has produced more than 1.1 million houbara birds to date. Of this total, officials confirmed the release of 668,000 birds into the wild to bolster declining populations. In 2025 alone, the programme achieved a record annual production of 107,807 birds, supported by ecological monitoring across breeding grounds in Asia and North Africa. The IFHC pavilion at Stand A-020 will feature a three-dimensional model of its breeding centres and a first-time display of the stone-curlew alongside live houbara. Data gathered from tracking 6,000 birds has been used to map migration corridors and survival rates, informing current release strategies across 22 countries within the species' range. Retinal scanning and AI integration New technology developed in partnership with Khalifa University will be a focal point of the 2026 showcase. The "AI eye-recognition" system uses retinal scanning to identify individual houbara, providing researchers with a non-invasive method to monitor…