Kara-Kul is a 25-km diameter lake in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, which lies at an altitude of 3,900 m above sea level. A peninsula projecting from the southern shore and an island off the north shore divide the lake into two basins: a smaller eastern one, which is relatively shallow, between 13 to 19 m deep, and a larger western one, with depths of 221 to 230 m. Kara-Kul lake lies within a circular depression thought to be a meteorite impact crater with a rim diameter of 45 km. Near the center of this scene is the mountain lake Kara-Kul, located in eastern Tajikistan, high in the Pamir Mountain Range near the Afghan border. The 25-kilometer (16-mile) diameter lake sits at an elevation of about 4,000 meters (about 12,000 feet) above sea level. Kara-Kul was formed from a meteorite impact approximately 25 million years ago, leaving a crater with a rim diameter of 45 kilometers (28 miles). Islands formed from the central uplift can be seen in the northern and southern parts of the lake. Interestingly, the Kara-Kul impact structure remained unidentified until it was discovered though studies of imagery taken from space. This image was taken by the Landsat 7 satellite on September 28, 2001. Native to the deserts of Central Asia, the Karakul is one of the world's oldest breeds. They are fine-boned and open-faced with long pendulous ears and a fat tail used as an energy reserve. They are hardy, adaptable, easy lambers with strong maternal instincts, have an extended breeding season with low prolificacy and are noted for their longevity. Fleece colors include black, silver, blue, gray, tan, reddish brown and white. Lambs are born with a lustrous "Persian lamb fur" fleece coat. Karakuls produce a long-stapled, light-weight, often double-coated fleece with excellent felting qualities. Kara-Kul or Qarokul (Tajik: Қарoкул) is a 25-kilometer (16-mile) diameter endorheic lake in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, which lies at an altitude of 3,900 meters (13,000 feet) above mean sea level. A peninsula projecting from the south shore and an island off the north shore divide the lake into two basins, a smaller eastern one which is relatively shallow, between 13 to 19 meters, and a larger western one, with depths of 221 to 230 meters. It has no drainage outlet.
There is a farm outside Bukhara, in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, where pens and fields are home to more than 10,000 karakul sheep, a hearty breed raised primarily for its silky and durable fur. Bukhara, an old proverb claims, is a city from which "the light ascends into heaven," but The HSUS has documented a practice there that is among the darkest of the fur industry's secrets. Garments made from the pelts of newborn karakul lambs—often referred to as "Persian lamb"—are a staple of the fur fashion world. So too are garments made of fetal karakul lambs (known as "broadtail"), which the fur industry claims are crafted from animals born prematurely due to accident or exposure. In March 2000, HSUS investigators touring the farm near Bukhara found that pregnant ewes are in fact routinely slaughtered for these fetal pelts. Graphic video shot at the farm shows a pregnant ewe held down, her throat slit and her stomach slashed wide so that a worker could remove the developing fetus—the "raw material" for coats, vests, and other broadtail fashions. What's more, contrary to the industry's claims that karakul lamb fur is merely a byproduct of meat production, HSUS investigators videotaped newborn lambs displayed as "samples" of pelt colors before being sent to their death. The pelts were saved, the tiny carcasses discarded as trash. The HSUS investigation, details of which aired on Dateline NBC, revealed that the killing of karakul lambs and karakul fetuses is dictated by the whims of the fur trade, which places a premium on texture, pattern, and luster. The fur taken from a fetus 15 days before the natural birth, for example, is smoother than that of a fetus taken five days before birth. Similarly, the curled texture of a newborn lamb is tighter and glossier five hours after birth than it is three days later, making it more valuable. The fur industry dismisses the charges that adult karakul sheep are killed for the fetuses. Why, it asks, would a farmer kill an adult breeding animal to produce a single pelt? The answer: Because there's plenty of money to be made. A karakul lamb coat sells for as much as $12,000, while the price of a broadtail outfit costs upwards of $25,000. Although karakul and broadtail lost some of their fashion-industry appeal during the early 1990s, there appears to be a resurgence of interest. Such world-renowned designers as Ralph Lauren and Karl Lagerfeld use karakul in their creations. Fendi and Nieman Marcus are among the U.S. retailers that sell karakul. So the karakul sheep-fur breeding continues in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and other Central Asian nations. And it continues at the farm in Bukhara, where hundreds of karakul sheep—some not yet born—are unceremoniously slaughtered each week.
