The UK says that it will help to rescue animals and staff from the charity sanctuary in Afghanistan. Paul “Pen” Farthing accused the ministers of cutting him off as all supporters have funded a chartered plane. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is now saying that if Mr. Farthing arrives at Kabul along with his animals, then “we will seek a slot for his plane”.
Royal Marine veteran Mr. Farthing is the founder of Nowzad animal shelter. It rescues dogs, donkeys, cats. He also said that he would not leave this country without his animals and staff.
Mr. Wallace said that he was not at all ready to prioritize animals ahead of the evacuation of people. However, he could not push them for Taliban checks or the crowds. Vet Lain McGill said that a private flight is on standby for the rescue of the group.
“The important thing about this mission is that it’s a humanitarian mission. It is to rescue Pen Farthing, his 68 staff, and 130 other vulnerable Afghan people,” Dr. McGill said.
“It will also rescue over 150 cats and dogs, many of them belonging to UK servicemen and women. The important thing is that every seat on that plane will be filled on the flight back to the UK.”
Mr. Wallace also said that he had authorized the Ministry of Defence to facilitate the processing of Farthing’s stuff to move to the UK.
He has tried to stay consistent with them. Also, he ensures those who are most at risk have the processing faster. But the limiting factor is the flow through the airside and not the capacity of the airplane. However, no one has the right in this humanitarian crisis to have a jump in the queue.
On Tuesday, Mr. Farthing also said that he never asked to prioritize pets over people. He had to prepare for the task to rescue animals and going ahead with his aircraft.
He had no confirmation and nothing in the form of writing to prevent the staff from stopping and turning around at a Talibani checkpoint.
Credits: BBC
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