Taigan
A male Taigan in Bishkek
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| Other names | Tajgan Kyrgyz Sighthound Kyrgyzskaya Borzaya Taigan |
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| Origin | Kyrgyzstan |
| Breed status | Not recognized as a standardized breed by any major kennel club. |
| Notes | Nationally recognized by the Hunting Commission of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Environmental Protection and by a number of national FCI member clubs. |
| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | |
The Taigan (Kyrgyz: Тайган) also known as Kyrgyzdyn Taighany (Kyrgyzskaya Borzaya Taigan in Russian) is a sighthound breed from Kyrgyzstan, which is not yet recognized by the FCI, but is recognized by a number of kennel clubs on national level.
They have medium-length and slightly curly hair and are similar in shape to Greyhounds. They are a member of the sighthound family.
Same as Azawakh, Sloughi, Saluki, Afghan Hound and Mid-Asiatic Tazi, the Taigan is a member of the family of Eastern Sighthounds, which can be found from Northern Africa to Central Asia.
During most periods of their history, the Kyrgyz have been a predominantly nomadic people, which has migrated through vast parts of Siberia and Central Asia. Therefore it is very unlikely that the origins of the Taigan can be traced back to one single ancestor. However, the Taigan in its present form is a pronounced mountain breed, perfectly adapted to its work in the alpine regions of the Tian Shan mountain range.
In the 1930s, Soviet cynologists began to register the existing specimens in the Kyrgyz SSR, but this work had to be stopped after the German invasion of the USSR in 1941. In 1964, the USSR laid down the first standard for the breed. Different from many western countries, live coursing has always been legal in the Soviet Union; hunters were organised in kolkhozy and had to deliver certain amounts of fur to the collective farms.
After Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991, the role of the breed underwent a change. The collapse of the collective farms forced many people in the rural areas of Kyrgyzstan to return to the nomadic life of their ancestors. For some of them, hunting with the Taigan became again an occupation which helps them to earn their living. On the other hand, parts of the new urban upper class have discovered the Taigan as a prestigious symbol of national heritage during the past few years. In 1995, the Cinologist Council of the Kyrgyz Republic (a body connected with the Ministry of Agriculture) adopted a new breed standard, which was later approved by the hunting commission at the Ministry of Environmental Protection. A number of breed shows were held in Bishkek, but with only small attendance by hunters from the countryside.
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Wikipedia