The Asian houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii) is registered as vulnerable in IUCN’s Red list and inhabits steppes from the Middle East to Central Asian, with Northern breeding populations wintering in the South and Southern populations being round-year resident. As part of a translocation program, combining both in- and ex-situ measures, three main migration corridors were identified, along with evidence for a severe decrease in the number of long-distance migrants wintering in the Gulf. These results were combined with population genetics studies leading to the identification of conservation units within the species. A strict genetic management strategy was then implemented to oversee captive populations and account for these conservation units while preserving the initial genetic diversity of the species in captivity. This management strategy permitted the maintenance of more than 95% of the initial genetic diversity, while allowing for the production and release of several thousand captive-bred houbara into the wild over a period of 10 years. Above 1200 of these individuals were equipped with satellite transmitters and their migration patterns not only confirmed that captive-bred houbara were able to migrate similarly to their wild counterparts, but also that the long-migrant phenotype was preserved, with captive-bred houbara wintering in the Gulf. These results confirmed that a strict genetic management strategy was successful in maintaining appropriate migratory behaviour in captivity therefore providing individuals to support in-situ conservation measures.