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Protest from the Anti Fur Society of Turkey: 'Blood-Free Store Window Displays' Fur Should Stay Where it Belongs, on the Animal it Came From
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Astragan? The Karakul is a domestic breed of sheep originating from Central Asia. Some research suggests that this breed lived with humans since 1400 B.C. This breed has been able to live under very harsh desert conditions in Central Asia. The Karakul sheep demonstrate one of the most painful truths of the fur industry. The “astragan” fur obtained from the Karakul sheep is a very expensive and popular type of fur in the industry. The Karakul sheep have very tight, curly hair, named “astragan.” However, the curliness of the sheep’s hair loses its shape within three days after birth. Thus, the fur industry chooses to kill the Karakul sheep before or after at least two days of being born. Yet, in order to obtain the desired quality of fur, simply killing the lamb before it is three days old is not enough. The fur industry uses extremely painful methods. In order to produce the highest quality of astragan the following are carried out: Once the Karakul ewes have entered the last 15-30 weeks of pregnancy, they are brought into white tiled death cells, and without considering the pregnant mother’s right to live, the mothers’ bodies are cut from the throat downwards. The unborn fetus is then removed from the mother and is skinned immediately after. Thus—the fur industry can obtain the purest astragan fur. Every year, approximately 4 million Karakul sheep are murdered before or after they are brought into the world. One piece of fetal astragan fur, referred to as “broadtail,” is worth $12,000 and prices of coats can go up to $25,000 in the US market*. In Turkey, astragan fur is regarded as one of the most favored and expensive types of fur. Some of the companies which sell Karakul sheep fur and represented in Turkey are Fendi, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana. In 2006, after mass public protesting, Ralph Lauren has proudly taken a stand against cruelty by ending all its fur collections. *Statistical information was sourced from Wikipedia and PETA. Written by Ozan Ezgi Berberoðlu Translated by Melisa Karabeyoglu
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