Cirneco dell'Etna


The Cirneco dell'Etna is an Italian breed of hunting dog from the Mediterranean island of Sicily. It is named for the Etna volcano in eastern Sicily. It has a keen sense of smell, and is used to hunt small game, particularly rabbits.

DNA studies

The Cirneco dell'Etna shows similarity to other Mediterranean island hunting hounds such as the Podenco Ibicenco of the Balearic Islands and the Kelb tal-Fenek of Malta. A DNA study found that the Cirneco dell'Etna and the Kelb tal-Fenek have separate genetic identities, however there was evidence of gene flow from the Podenco Canario into the Cirneco dell'Etna. A further DNA analysis of the Cirneco dell'Etna and the Kelb tal-Fenek indicate that their separate breed formation occurred within the last 200 years, however the genetic foundations of these breeds date to the more distant past.

History

One newspaper article purports that the Cirneco is believed to be an ancient breed. The word "cirneco" derives from the cyrenaicus, related to Cyrenaica in North Africa; the second part of the name relates to the area of the Etna volcano in Sicily, where the dogs originated. The earliest written description of the breed was by Maurizio Migneco, a veterinary surgeon from Adrano on the slopes of Etna, who published an account in Il Cacciatore Italiano in 1932. This was seen by a Sicilian noblewoman, Agata Paternó Castello, who bought some of the dogs and in 1934 started breeding them. The breed was recognised by the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana in 1939, based on a breed standard drawn up by Giuseppe Solaro of Turin. The Cirneco was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1956. It is a rare breed; in the period from 2010 to 2018, new registrations in Italy were between about 100 and 150 per year.