Oryx Vol 34 No 4 October 2000 Health considerations of the rehabilitation of illegally traded houbara bustards Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii in the Middle East Tom Bailey, Christu-Das Silvanose, Jesus Naldo, Olivier Combreau, Frederic Launay, Ulrich Wernery, Joerg Kinne, Richard Gough and Ruth Manvell virus, paramyxovirus type 2 and Chlamydia sp. Various Abstract There is a large illegal trade in trapped regional initiatives have been initiated to confiscate and houbara bustards Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii, which rehabilitate illegally trapped birds. This paper reviews are smuggled into the Middle East for falconry. Mortality is high and is associated with poor transport conditions, the causes of morbidity and mortality seen in illegally traded houbara bustards and provides health recommen- malnutrition, overcrowding and exposure to multiple dations for those involved in rehabilitation. infectious diseases, in particular aspergillosis, avian pox and paramyxovirus type 1 virus. Other pathogens in- Keywords Health, houbara bustard, illegal trade, clude Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Trichomonas sp., intestinal endoparasites, avian leucosis, reovirus, adeno- Middle East, rehabilitation. Introduction The houbara bustard Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii has a high conservation profile because it is the trad- itional quarry of falconers in Arabia and a number of regional conservation projects have been initiated by influential Arab falconers to safeguard both the bustard and their tradition (Launay et al., 1999). There are few reliable data on the exact status of houbara bustard populations in the wild, but they are generally con- sidered to have declined over most of their range during the last few decades for the following reasons: overgrazing, overhunting, agricultural development and human disturbance (Collar, 1996; Goriup, 1997). Although the houbara bustard has been downlisted from Vulnerable to Least Concern in the 1996 Red List of Endangered Animals (IUCN, 1996), a recent review of the world status of the houbara bustard by Goriup (1997) considered that the C. u. macqueenii population should be considered as ‘Near Threatened’. There is a large illegal trade in free-living houbara bustards, trapped in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, which are exported to the Middle East (Fig. 1) where they are used by some falconers to train their falcons. It has been suggested that 4000 – 7000 houbaras are traded in this way from Pakistan each year (Goriup, 1997), while accurate information on the flow of birds from other countries is unknown. The mortality of the birds transported to the Middle East is high and entire ship- ments can die after arrival in Gulf countries. Poor husbandry, crowded transport conditions, exposure to infectious diseases carried by domestic birds, and in- sufficient food and water are responsible for the ma- jority of deaths (Bailey, 1998a). This trade may have more impact on the status of the houbara bustard than direct hunting with falcons. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora and although the importation of free-living houbara bustards was banned in 1993, illegal trade continued relatively un- impeded (Anon., 1993). In 1998, initiatives were taken in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah to confiscate illegally im- ported houbara bustards when they entered the UAE, while government agencies in Pakistan actively con- fiscate birds as they are smuggled out of the country through air and sea ports. Attempts to rehabilitate and release these birds back into suitable habitats have also been initiated in Pakistan (Ahmed, 1997) and in the UAE at the National Avian Research Center (NARC). Although some data concerning the morbidity, mor- tality and serology of imported houbara bustards dur- ing 1992 – 94 have been previously presented (Bailey et al., 1996a,b,c), a comprehensive review of the infectious Tom Bailey (corresponding author) Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, National Avian Research Center, PO Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. E-mail: tabailey@erwda.gov.ae Christu-Das Silvanose, Jesus Naldo, Olivier Combreau and Frederic Launay Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, National Avian Research Center, PO Box 45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ulrich Wernery and Joerg Kinne Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 597, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Richard Gough and Ruth Manvell Central Veterinary Laboratory, New Haw, Weybridge, Surrey, UK. Revised manuscript accepted for publication 20 May 2000 © 2000 FFI, Oryx, 34(4), 325–334 325