By Nugman Hodjaevich ZULPETDINOV, chief of Uzbek Republican Production Union “KARAKUL”, August 16, 1991
Persian Lamb Skins (Bukhara Karakul) from the USSR
Statement in Lieu Of An Oath
Having been instructed about the nature of a statement in lieu of an oath, in particular about the criminal consequences of a violation of the duty of truth, I Nugman Hodjaevich ZULPETDINOV state in lieu of an oath:
To my person:
Nugman Hodjaevich ZULPETDINOV, The chief of Uzbek Republican Production Union “KARAKUL”
I am familiar with the situation in the individual republics of the USSR and give a true picture of the slaughtering of Karakul lambs and sheep from my own experience.
To the matter:
The following assertions or analogous statement about Karakul breeding or the production of Persian lamp resp. Karakul furskins from the USSR are absolutely wrong:
1. Just before having their young, the pregnant brood animals are firmly held on to the ground. Fully conscious, their throats are slit open by means of a knife.
2. The butcher snaps the unborn young away from the brood animal together with the uterus.
3. The animals’ throats are severed even before the umbilical cord is cut.
4. Fully conscious, in agony, the animals’ skin is separated from their flesh.
The following is correct:
1. The Karakul sheep in the USSR are held in flocks on free pastures. The lambs are born in a natural way without any obstetrics. The brood animals are not killed neither while nor after throwing. They are fertile for many years and are therefore incomparably more worth than a lamb skin. Nobody will snatch an unborn young away from the brood animal together with the uterus.
2. Lambs which cannot or shall not be reared, are killed by the shepherd in charge of the flock one or two days after birth. This is done on the pasture resp. on the farmground, that is without the stress being caused by transportation to the slaughter-house.
3. Slaughtering is done by a throat cut or according to Jewish rites and immediate exsanguinations. The lambs are under no circumstances killed before the umbilical cord is cut.
4. The animals are skinned only after slaughtering. The lamb has been dead for a long time then and cannot feel any pain any more.
These statements are representative for the Karakul breeding and the production of Karakul fuskins in the USSR resp. the individual republics.
This is what I state in lieu of an oath.
Signature: [signed] Nugman Hodjaevich ZULPETDINOV
Place: Tashkent, Uzbek Republic
Date: August 16, 1991
