Nowzad / Facebook
A former member of the British naval infantry is scrambling to evacuate nearly 100 dogs and 80 cats by plane from Afghanistan before the deadline set by the Taliban. He is also trying to get dozens of Afghan citizens out of the country in the same way, but is met with reluctance from the British authorities, who say they have other priorities.”
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Paul Farthing is extremely worried. Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, he has been afraid for the many dogs and cats he cares for in the shelters he has created in that country, but also for the Afghans who worked there. He has mounted an operation to transport them by plane out of the territory before the end of the month, but he is facing great difficulties, as reported by the New York Post on Wednesday, August 25.
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Aged 57, Paul Farthing is a former soldier. He had served in the Royal Marines and decided to move to Afghanistan to found a sanctuary for stray animals. He ended up having 3 shelters built in different cities.”
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The man is also the founder of Nowzad, an organization that helps soldiers who have adopted dogs in Afghanistan to have them repatriated once their deployment is over. Kringle the Anatolian Shepherd Crusader and Pagunda the 3-legged dog are among the beneficiaries of this program.”
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More than 6 days before the ultimatum of the Taliban
Thanks to the donations received, the ex-marine rifleman now has the necessary funds to evacuate by plane 94 dogs, 79 cats and 68 Afghan refugees, including those who worked in his shelters. The operation must be done before August 31, the deadline decided by the fundamentalist movement for the departure of foreign forces and nationals.”
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We want to bring in a plane with 250 seats and we only need 69 seats, explains the interested party, who insists that it will not cost the taxpayer anything, since it is financed thanks to the generosity of donors.”
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However, the initiative does not enjoy the support of the UK authorities, according to which this evacuation is not considered a priority over others. Ben Wallace, Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence, points to the case of thousands of people, some of whom are under a truly direct threat because of what they have done over the past 20 years. For the minister, the priority is to take care of these people and it is not possible to put them aside to allow the examination of some of these other cases.”
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The situation of Paul Farthing’s protégés is therefore worrying and a solution must be found as soon as possible. The biggest fear for the former soldier, who is still there, is that he will find himself forced to euthanize the animals because he cannot get them out of the country.”
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