This Pen Farthing guy

[TheGenealogist]

The bloke with the animal shelter in Kabul.

Refusing to leave unless he can take ALL of his 60 odd staff and ALL of his 200+ cats and dogs with him. Expecting the government to make special rules for him and his friends.

Getting people out - understandable. The Taliban aren't going to look kindly on people who have translated for the military, or "collaborated" in other ways. But staff at an animal shelter?

And as for the refusing to leave without the animals and making this all out to be the UK government's fault? For not falling over themselves to arrange transport for a bunch of ownerless animals nobody wants when there are human beings in fear of their lives?

What is this guy playing at?

Unfortunately he isn't irrelevant to the people trying to save their children's lives when he is pushing through with his cats and dogs

This!

"Move aside people for the cats and dogs, No you can't get on this plane, not sure how your getting away...maybe crowd fund?'

Unfortunately he isn't irrelevant to the people trying to save their children's lives when he is pushing through with his cats and dogs.

Yes. I forgot Pen is responsible for what is happening to all the people in Afghanistan. 🙄Blame the US president, previous presidents and Taliban for that, not Pen trying to do his best for the ones he cares about.

How are they accredited. If people are going to be taking their pets to be treated by them I think we have a right to question this.

Will nobody think of the Tricki Woos??

Don't worry they won't be allowed membership of the RCVS (and thus be allowed to practise veterinary medicine in the UK) unless they're up to scratch. Depending on Kabul uni's international accreditation and UK requirements, they might have to do conversion exams. When I qualified from the vet college in Dublin nearly 20 years ago my Irish qualification was good enough to register with the RCVS and start work in the UK straight away, but annoyingly not recognised in New Zealand and I couldn't afford the money or time to do the conversion exams. I expect Pen's staff will have time to study for exams as they await asylum processing once in the UK and there will likely be a few spare Nowzad quid left over to pay for them.

As for "training" vets.... well, the practice where I work is a vet nurse training practice. They do their lectures and exams at a college, we do the practical bit. If our practice manager said "We have trained x number of vet nurses" I wouldn't be jumping up and down insisting that the college trained them not us.

Yeah maybe he wasn't quite clear enough about the particulars but it takes a special kind of person to argue about the semantics when he's sitting on a bus possibly with IS bombers sniffing round. If "trained" rather than "helped to train" was the only bit of upselling that anyone trying to get in the doors of Kabul airport has done then I'll be very surprised. I don't upsell my qualifications or experience to clients- in fact I'm crystal clear about this when I am discussing client consent for treatment - but if I was outside Kabul airport I'd probably pretend I was Noel "Supervet" Fitzpatrick himself if I thought it would help.

@meditrina

I think could look like queue jumping in the sense that his staff seem to have got through the system very easily. OTOH, we are not really seeing how the processing system is working and whether it's like that for everyone who has a good claim to come

Also, putting in a special flight just bumps another flight back, so that looks like special treatment too, especially when the people could be slotted in to the existing schedule. The biggest possible planes keep the queue moving the most, sending a smaller one because someone awaiting evacuation can charter it just hold up the queue

Taking animals like taking cars or other freight, as they do not need either oxygen or a reasonable temperature during transit. If a space is safe for animals it is safe for human animals.

They have not got through. They are still roadside in sniffling heat. No one has won here.

There is not a poster on this thread that would choose to put their cat on a plane to safety instead of their child.

Yet there seems to a lot of posters who would put cats and dogs on a plane before other peoples children. Its an absolute disgrace.

‘ Its insane that people will crowd fund for fucking cats and dogs and his fucking car to be loaded on to airplane yet not for women and children. I'm sickened by it.’

There are so many charities working there who need support right now. It’s insane that he raised so much money for a flight that was never guaranteed to be allowed to land or even leave Kabul.

I'd be happy for my cat to see one of the vets as the other current option is not seeing one unless it's an emergency thanks to shortages.

They are not going to be as big a target as the translators and why is his loyalty to his staff so commendable but if the govt/military want to show loyalty to their staff so unimportant?

Raab refused to cut his holiday short & despite the Taliban entering Kabul in the Sunday, Johnson waited until the Wednesday to hold an emergency meeting over this. Planes were leaving with 7 or 8 people on because of the bureaucracy involved in processing people.

@Dillyjones72

I would have thought an ex-marine would have better reckon making capabilities. He could have had his staff on a RAF flight and out of there days ago - this isn’t about the animals,It’s about one mans’ ego. Genuinely at a loss as to why he thinks his animals should get priority over any human life in this absolutely shit show. He’ll be okay though won’t he? As a U.K. National the government will continue to try to get him out after this - but his Afghan staff? They’re screwed - if they don’t get out now it’s unlikely they ever will. The U.K. authorities have a duty to try and help U.K. nationals, but not the others in the coming months.

100% this.

Aside from any arguments about whether animals should be rescued at all, there does seem to be some confusion on these threads about the flight situation in Kabul in general.

There have been quite a large number of privately chartered evacuation flights, some paid for by fundraising and some paid by various organisations trying to evacuate their staff. There are numerous airlines who specialise in charter flights to challenging destinations. In fact, military troop rotations also often use these types of charters. The Nowzad charter is not, by a long way, unique.

The issues with filling the planes, both military and charter, is more related to difficulties processing paperwork swiftly and the logistics of getting to the airport, through the crowds and safely inside. Many flights, particularly the charity charters and those going to countries who had smaller field presence in Afghanistan, are leaving with only a small number of people on board. And that's without even thinking about Blackwater.

This is not a situation where random children are going to be stuffed in dog crates in aircraft holds. People within the airport are waiting for their relevant flights to depart, albeit in miserable conditions.

@TheAstronaut There is something slightly amusing about posters like you and @jasjas1973 getting worked up over mild criticism of Pen (I said his behaviour now showed he wasn't very bright) BUT at the same time lobbing personal attacks at other posters.

There is a saying- play the ball, not the man.

We can all have differing opinions without being offensive. You've lost the argument when you resort to that.

@ohstopityourmakingitup

There is not a poster on this thread that would choose to put their cat on a plane to safety instead of their child.

Yet there seems to a lot of posters who would put cats and dogs on a plane before other peoples children. Its an absolute disgrace.

That sums it up well.

@ohstopityourmakingitup

Unfortunately he isn't irrelevant to the people trying to save their children's lives when he is pushing through with his cats and dogs

This!

"Move aside people for the cats and dogs, No you can't get on this plane, not sure how your getting away...maybe crowd fund?'

Absolutely agree.

If he'd gone to the airport when he was told to this wouldn't be happening.

It's sickening to see him and his supporters blaming other people now.

It's irrelevant what the US forces are now doing at the airport, or that there's a severe terrorist threat there, because he wouldn't still be there if he'd done what he was told to do when he was told to do it.

No one seems to acknowledge that rescue animals in the UK cannot be rehomed as no one wants them, and they are being put down.

We have an abundance of unwanted, homeless dogs.

They have not got through. They are still roadside in sniffling heat. No one has won here

I know they have not got through.

Or at least not yet. I hope the people get out, on whatever flights have seats.

On a big softie level, I would live to see the animals rescued as well. But I don't think it's right to prioritise them over people - who would happily travel in an animal-safe hold.

The crowds outside the airport are volatile enough without seeing animals getting through

Not sure who I’ve personally attacked. 😬

Someone told me to fuck off, isn’t that an attack on me.

I've heard that Pen, the staff and animals have been waiting in the heat for hours. The animals are in crates in the boiling heat and his staff have been trying to keep them cool.

It would have been far more humane to have euthanised these poor animals, not subject them to hours and hours in a hot crate followed by a long flight.

I'm shocked that Pen and fellow travellers are happy to prioritise the lives of animals over humans.

@alpinia Thanks for this insight. This was what I assumed to be the case but only from what I’d read.

On a big softie level, I would live to see the animals rescued as well. But I don't think it's right to prioritise them over people - who would happily travel in an animal-safe hold.

The people will not be allowed to travel in the hold. Of course they are desperate enough too, but they just won’t be allowed as it’s too dangerous.

I hope that Pen and his staff get out safely, although I hope that he isn't lauded as some kind of derring-do hero. He has put people at risk.

As for the animals, I find the possibility of desperate people, knowing they are unlikely to be rescued, watching animals being led into the airport absolutely abhorrent. And I'm an animal lover.

It would have been far more humane to have euthanised these poor animals, not subject them to hours and hours in a hot crate followed by a long flight.

They have bets with them who will be assessing things. They will know better than us none vets.

It would have been far more humane to have euthanised these poor animals, not subject them to hours and hours in a hot crate followed by a long flight.

Ohstopityourmakingitup well said.