There's nothing Egyptian about the Pharaoh Hound

For many years it has been thought that the Maltese Kelb tal-Fenek is one of the oldest breeds of dogs. Because of its resemblance to dogs depicted on ancient Egyptian tombs, many foreign fanciers, as well as a number of urban Maltese dog lovers, thought that this breed originated in ancient Egypt and was probably brought to the Maltese islands by the Phoenicians. Therefore, foreign canine organisations like the British Kennel Club and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) decided to name this breed Pharaoh Hound.

However, now there is an interesting scientific study which seems to prove that this idea is nothing but wishful thinking. In its edition of May 21, 2004, the US magazine Science published a study held by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, in Seattle.

The scientists investigated the genome of 85 different dog breeds, including the Kelb tal-Fenek and the Podenco Ibicenco (Ibizan Hound). The main aim of the study was to get a better understanding of the correlation of genetic relations and hereditary diseases. The researchers expect that understanding these genetic relationships will help them uncover the genes responsible for the physical features and behaviours unique to each breed as well as the diseases to which they are commonly susceptible, such as cancer, deafness, blindness, heart disease and hip dysplasia.

Moreover, it is a side-effect of this study that scientists also learned some interesting things about the origin of dogs. One of these amazing results was that both the genes of the Kelb tal-Fenek as well as the genes of the Podenco Ibicenco indicate they have been developed in more recent times.

Now some foreign breeders of so-called Pharaoh Hounds might feel sad about the fact that their idea of owning the descendants of the hunting dogs of ancient Egypt has been proven to be false. But on the other hand, all Maltese can be proud to know that it seems exclusively to be the merit of their forefathers to have selected the best hunting dogs probably from many parts of Europe and the Mediterranean to breed the dog which we know today as the Kelb tal-Fenek - one of the most efficient hunting dogs we know.

Therefore, it is difficult to understand that many Maltese - including some organised dog lovers - seem to ignore this part of their national heritage. Abroad, and sometimes even in Malta, the Kelb tal-Fenek is called Pharaoh Hound - one can hardly imagine that any other country would accept a national treasure like this dog to be renamed in this strange and misleading way. Could anybody imagine that a German would ever accept the German Shepherd to be called Maltese Terrier or that a Swede would accept the Jaemthund to be called Afghan Hound?

Over these past few years, I have been in different countries to study the situation of rare dog breeds. Many countries have launched projects for the protection and revival of rare breeds of domesticated animals, including rare local dog breeds in danger of extinction. Recently, Germany has put dog breeds like the Mittelspitz, the Grossspitz, the Deutscher Pinscher and the Altdeutscher Huetehund on a red list of rare and endangered breeds and even a poor and remote country like Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia has started an exemplary project for the survival of a local breed of sighthounds, called Taigan, which is even protected by national law.

Sometimes, foreign breeders pay lip-service to the Maltese origin of the Kelb tal-Fenek. However, if you attend international dog shows abroad you will soon realise that most of these huge, long-necked and over- angulated prick-eared red hounds have not too much similarity with their sturdy and efficient Maltese ancestors. It is good to know that the current breed standard for the Pharaoh Hound has been written by English breeders who had only a very small and non-representative number of specimens available.

Many breeds of dogs have already been ruined in this way: The Afghan Hound, as it appears in Western show rings, and bred under a British-made breed standard, does not have much to do with the efficient sighthound which was used to hunt ibex in the Hindukush mountains; a show Greyhound appears as a very different breed from the traditional coursing Greyhound and the German police, Customs, army and border guards use Belgian Shepherds for their working purposes because the German Shepherd has been ruined as a result of the requirements laid down by show promoters.

In the past, a few engaged and knowledgeable Maltese people have tried to promote the Kelb tal-Fenek. They have also tried to convince the authorities and the Malta Kennel Club that something has to be done to preserve this breed. However, it seems that their appeals were widely ignored and sometimes even ridiculed.

This is a point which I can really not understand: Do the Maltese authorities not want to do something for the Kelb tal-Fenek because it is connected with hunting? Even if there is some disagreement over certain hunting practices in Malta, live hunting with the Kelb tal-Fenek is certainly an environment-friendly and ecological way of doing it, which should not damage Malta's international reputation in any way.

They should know that, for example, the Hungarian government has recently decided to promote the Hungarian sighthound, the Magyar Agar, by permitting coursing in parts of the country after it had been banned for many years in the communist era and also afterwards.

Do the canine organisations in Malta fear that members who successfully breed the Kelb tal-Fenek compete with breeders of imported prestigious species? But why do all other national kennel clubs promote their local breeds in a special way?

Having seen some examples of people who are working for the protection of rare local dog breeds I would like to suggest that a similar project should be launched in Malta, with the aim of registering the remaining stock, drawing up a draft breeding programme and promoting the traditional way of hunting with the Kelb tal-Fenek. I am sure such a project would be an ideal subject for biologists at the University of Malta and it should also attract the attention of all those organisations promoting the cultural heritage of Malta.

Mr Scotland is a member of the breeding commission of the German Sighthound Club.