The action was not without controversy: a British ex-soldier had dogs and cats flown out of an animal shelter in Kabul. Now Paul Farthing justifies himself.
London / Kabul – After 150 dogs and cats were rescued from his animal shelter in Kabul, a British ex-soldier now also wants to bring his employees to safety.
Paul Farthing told the Daily Mail that he felt guilty about leaving people behind. The “poorly thought out withdrawal” of the Allies from Afghanistan destroyed the country overnight and cost countless lives. “We sent her back to the Dark Ages.” For the first time, a young vet had to come to work completely veiled.
Farthing had left Kabul a few days ago. In Great Britain the “Operation Arche”, as the rescue of the animals was called, caused a lot of discussion. Critics accuse the 52-year-old and the British government of having flown animals and leaving Afghan local workers behind. Farthing rejected this. The animals were flown out in the hold of a cargo machine, in which no people could have been transported. Five cats died during the trip. The remaining animals are now in quarantine in the UK.
His employees urged him to get by on his own with the animals after a joint bus convoy was rejected at Kabul airport due to missing papers, said Farthing. He paid the employees the wages for several months in advance. Now he is trying to get her out of Afghanistan from afar. dpa
