Page 49 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW Issue 15

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 4 9

Unlike Hon. Florence Amherst, who never accepted foreign Saluki types into her breeding

programme, Brig. Gen. Lance took a more practical approach. He liked to mix all Saluki
types, as long as they hunted well. This appearance was naturally suited to those Saluki
fanciers and breeders who wanted to see results and considered the subtleties of the
"Amherstia" breeding to be more of a nuisance.

The next step is the publication of a theoretical basis in the book "Les Lévriers" by Xavier

Przezdziecki, published in 1975. In the very first chapter (Origin and genealogy of
greyhounds, Origin of greyhounds, p.9), he divides the smooth Sloughis and the Salukis
with feathered ears and tail, which he only divides into the two groups "Sloughi" and
"Saluki" for the sake of convenience, "even if they are zoologically the same breed and
had the same history for thousands of years, ... should mostly be understood as Asian
greyhounds" (Przezdziecki).

Przezdziecki is simply fantasising here. There is no basis for the assertion that they are all
the same, sighthounds remain sighthounds, regardless of whether they originate from
India, as he cites the Dhole, or whether they come from the Maghreb. They are
zoologically the same breed!

Up to and including 1980, the French Sloughi Standard 188c was in force, which does not

indicate a region of origin, as it is a "race française", a French breed*. The Sloughi
Standard 188c was maintained by the French. Until this time, the Sloughi was also
referred to as a "race française". A colonial attitude can certainly be recognised in this
appropriation. To "improve" this landrace Sloughi from North Africa, one can of course
use the "best possible breeding material" (Burchard) from one's own sphere of influence,

so a Saluki from Syria can be understood and used as a better alter ego to the Sloughi.

As we learn from Zimen, a breed or a race or a kind is embedded in the particular
conditions of its environment. The climatic and spatial environments in India or the
Arabian Peninsula are very diverse within their geographical environment, which also
affects the uses and genotype of sighthounds, simply because different game is found
there and different climatic and geological conditions prevail. A hare in the Arabian
desert is different from one in the steppe or in the fertile areas of the Maghreb. The

origin of a race is therefore an essential part of its description as a race in order to
distinguish it from other races with characterising conditions!

*Editor’s note: by right of conquest.