So he got the dogs out and left the people behind?!

SmidgenofaPigeon · 31/08/2021 08:40

Yeah that’s right, because the people could totally have squeezed in a load of crates in the hold of the aircraft.

Formaldeheidi · 31/08/2021 08:42

Hasn’t this been done to death?

No. That’s not what happened.

MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 31/08/2021 08:43

As I understand it, he didn't leave the people behind it was that the Taliban wouldn't let them through their areas of control. It wasn't that he took animals over people, it was animals or nothing.

burritofan · 31/08/2021 08:43

Not this again. The same arguments will be rehashed for pages, veering from actual military insight to “why not put a baby in a crate” vs “dogs R nice ur a hater”. He’s here now, the end, focus ire back on the dreadfully mismanaged evacuation, and focus energy on working to better refugees’ lives.

Nb. It’s possible to hate both Pen Farthing and the Tories at the same time. In fact, I recommend it.

LEMtheoriginal · 31/08/2021 08:43

Is there something wrong with you?

SmidgenofaPigeon · 31/08/2021 08:43

And I’m not saying this doesn’t raise a LOT of issues (including the fact that there were other animal rescuers trying to get out too but none as vocal or supported as this guy)

But it’s not as simple as dogs and cats taking up places that people could have occupied.

gardeninggirl68 · 31/08/2021 09:24

Good....I'm glad! He's safe and managed to get a few animals out too!

User871032 · 31/08/2021 09:29

FFS again. The people could not get the right clearances from the UK government and when they could it was too late. He could not have done more to get the humans out, but the UK government would not cooperate and had already decided to set him up like this as a fall guy to cover their shambolic handling of it all and for daring to suggest that a car was not an appropriate use of space on a plane earmarked for the rescue of humans. He most definitely did not choose animals over humans. The UK government made that choice.

WTF475878237NC · 31/08/2021 09:32

My only hope is that no Afghan families watched British troops help them. What a kick in the teeth. And I say that as someone who donated to Pen's charity with no idea we would be in the situation of there not being enough military personnel and equipment to get everyone out in time.

knittingaddict · 31/08/2021 09:57

@WTF475878237NC

My only hope is that no Afghan families watched British troops help them. What a kick in the teeth. And I say that as someone who donated to Pen's charity with no idea we would be in the situation of there not being enough military personnel and equipment to get everyone out in time.

What did he do wrong? How many people do you think he prevented getting on that plane?

FatCatThinCat · 31/08/2021 10:03

He had to get the animals out otherwise there'd be nothing to distract the easily distracted from the fact that the government have utterly failed the people of Afghanistan. They didn't even bother to read the desperate emails from people they were duty bound to help. Quick, look! A rescued cat in box! Could have fitted a translator and his entire family in that pet carrier!

RobinPenguins · 31/08/2021 10:03

He’s a prick so my instinct is to feel he’s got blood on his hands but really it’s whoever made the decision to spend a second of time getting the crates of animals through the airport while there were eligible people who could have been assisted getting into and through the airport.

itsgettingwierd · 31/08/2021 10:07

@MilkTwoSugarsThanks

As I understand it, he didn't leave the people behind it was that the Taliban wouldn't let them through their areas of control. It wasn't that he took animals over people, it was animals or nothing.

This.

Shame that a large proportion of the population are having trouble comprehending this.

And just as reminder to others (again!) the animals didn't take up seats on the plane that others could have used.

They went in the hold in crates.

Critique how vocal he was and how he expressed his frustration at times.

But he worked tirelessly and non stop to get him, his staff and the animals evacuated on a jet he arranged personally.

At one point he was preparing to appear on tv and had the taliban knocking at his door.

KurtWilde · 31/08/2021 10:50

Just goes to show how easily a country of animal lovers can be distracted from how shite the evacuation really was.

midsomermurderess · 31/08/2021 10:51

Stop with the frothing over this man and his dogs and cats and use your ire and energy to help the Afghan people either stuck there or seeking asylum.

Tippexy · 31/08/2021 10:52

Yep, and have you heard the vile two minute voicemail rant he left?

Original poster

Sillysuzie · 31/08/2021 10:53

I'm fully aware the animals don't take seats. I'm not an idiot. But they don't just trot on into the hold themselves. Someone has to put them there. And that someone was the military, who could have been loading refugees on to planes instead

OP posts:

Figgygal · 31/08/2021 10:53

Ffs
It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t get the people out in the slightest
He couldn’t control who the Taliban were letting through
The animals were in the hold there were lots of seats for people to travel but no people to fill them

LeafOfTruth · 31/08/2021 10:55

It really is true that no good deed goes unpunished.

Try very hard to get animals and people out but only succeed getting the animals = everyone has a pop at you

Get no one out at all = get the option to sit on a keyboard having a pop

Tippexy · 31/08/2021 10:56

Same old posters still going on about the “animals went in the hold” when that is not the point.

Conveniently, they ignore:

the man hours used to process the animals at the airport when those man hours could have been used to process refugees.
the fact that his plane took up one a of a limited number of remaining landing slots. His plane held 300 (although we are not told if it did). A military plane would have held 600.

knittingaddict · 31/08/2021 10:57

@KurtWilde

Just goes to show how easily a country of animal lovers can be distracted from how shite the evacuation really was.

I'm an animal lover to a degree (no pets and would always put people before animals), but I'm not even slightly distracted and fully realise how bad this is. It is possible to be aware that this is a complete cock up, while also being happy that some animals got out too and not at the expense of people.

I don't know PF, but I'm sure that if he had to chose he would have chosen his staff over the animals. Sadly he was never given that choice and the people had to stay.

If this had been a film the whole lot of them would be saved in the nick of time and we would have our happy ending. I wish real life was like that, but it isn't.

SmidgenofaPigeon · 31/08/2021 10:59

Should he have just not tried for the animals then, once he knew it wasn’t possible to get the people out? Took the dogs round the back and put a bullet in their heads so no one would be up in arms that he valued the animals more than people?

He didn’t get to choose animals or people.

TheFairyCaravan · 31/08/2021 10:59

If I hear “the animals were in the hold…” one more time I’m going to combust. Who put them there? Not Pen Farthing by himself, it would have been the British Military. There was no baggage handlers or any other staff at Kabul airport, it wasn’t bloody Gatwick.

I think he and a lot of his supporters have behaved terribly. At a time when the MOD needed to be completely focussed on the job in hand they had people phoning leaving abusive messages and death threats.

NB. I think the Govt have been shit, too.

SmidgenofaPigeon · 31/08/2021 11:00

I don’t think he comes across as a nice man in all honesty but that’s not really the point.

BFrazzled · 31/08/2021 11:03

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