[Reader-list] Karakul , Rahul & Animal Rights

[Pawan Durani]

I condemn Rahul Gandhi , Omar Abdullah and Saif-Ud-din Soz wearing 'Karakul'
hats at election rallies in Srinagar Kashmir.

This is as good as endrosing cruelty towards animals.

the fur of newborn and fetal karakul lambs who are bred by the thousands in
Central Asia for the bloody fur trade.

Because their unique, highly prized curly fur begins to unwind and
straighten within three days of birth, many karakul lambs are slaughtered
when they are only 1 or 2 days old. The rest don’t even make it that far. In
order to get a karakul fetus’s hide—called “broadtail” in the industry and
valued for its exceptional smoothness—the mother’s throat is slit and her
stomach slashed open to remove the developing lamb. A mother typically gives
birth to three lambs before being slaughtered along with her fourth fetus,
about 15 to 30 days before it is due to be born. As many as 4 million
karakul lambs are slaughtered for their fur every year.

The fur industry tries to justify karakul lamb fur as a byproduct, but with
a single karakul lamb coat selling for up to $12,000 and “broadtail” fetus
coats fetching as much as $25,000, it’s little surprise that the mother
sheep and her baby’s skinned carcass are usually regarded simply as trash.

What can you do about karakul lamb fur?

   - Don’t buy or wear ANY fur.
   - If you see karakul lamb fur for sale, write to the store owners or
   managers, let them know where it comes from, and urge them to pull it from
   the shelves
   - Write to

   *PETA India *
   P.O. Box No 2
   GPO , Pune 411 001
   India
   Tel.: [+91] 020 -2605 8102

   Universal no : 1860-233-4222
   Fax: [+91] 020-2605 8106




On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 2:30 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:

>   I am simple minded.
>
> I have often wondered about the Death Penalty to which I am totally opposed
> (for any kind of a crime whatsoever.)
>
> Either you have the Death Penalty or you do not. If it exists, I see no
> difference whether the execution is carried out by a Lethal Injection, or by
> the Electric Chair, or the Gallows, or by Flogging, or by Stoning, or by
> Breaking Arms and Legs and Allowing to die of Heat or Cold.
>
> Similarly, either you kill animals of a particular species or you do not. I
> do not see any difference between killing cattle for food (and using its
> hide for other purposes) and killing a fetus and using its hide for some
> purpose (Karakul cap).
>
> There is nothing humane about killing. Thats all. How you kill does not
> matter.
>
> But then I am simple minded
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
>
> --- On *Tue, 4/28/09, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
> From: Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] Karakul , Rahul & Animal Rights
> To: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 11:10 AM
>
>   <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1956862.stm>
> Rahul sported a " karakul " hat in Kashmir .
>
> For those who do not know how a Karakul hat is made , should know that
> Karakul has its origins in the cruel slaughter of sheep.
>
> The karakul wool is made by beating a pregnant ewe till it aborts.
>
> As soon as it aborts, the lamb that comes out has very curly tight hair.
>
> "The lamb's skin remains curly and tight for the first 24 hours of its
> life.
> While still alive, the lamb's skin is stripped off and made into a cap.
>
> "The mother which is forced to abort also dies,"
>
>  Humane Society of the United States pointed out what it called the
> "suffering, inhumane slaughter, and waste of lives behind karakul
> fashions".
>
>
>
>
> With inputs taken from BBC
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> For pictures : http://greaterkashmir.com/today/photo.asp?Date=28_4_2009
>
> http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090428/jsp/nation/story_10886500.jsp
>
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