Karakul or Qaraqul (named after Qorakoʻl, a city in Bukhara Region in Uzbekistan) is a breed of domestic fat-tailed sheep which originated in Central Asia.
[1] Hailing from the desert regions of Central Asia, Karakul sheep are renowned for their ability to forage and thrive under extremely harsh living conditions.
[citation needed] The meat from the sheep, and especially the fat from the tail end, is an important ingredient in Uzbek cuisine.
The lambs must be under three days old when they are killed, or they will lose their black color and soft, tightly wound coils of fur.
Fetal karakul lambs are harvested through miscarriages, induced early delivery or by killing the mother sheep and removing the fetus.