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?

He is just asking for.permission to be granted to fly himself, team and animals out of the country. He feels responsible for them, as they'll starve/be killed otherwise.

@BittaOrange

I am shocked that a ‘vehicle’ was airlifted out, what the hell was all that about?

Not just a vehicle!!!

Not just any vehicle, that is…

It's always easier to judge the actions of someone else than to actually do anything yourself.

He may not be an especially likeable chap if you were looking for someone to have a drink with (or maybe he is?) but he seems like someone doing what he thinks is right in very difficult circumstances and a damn site more than I am sat on my arse typing on mn. So I wish him, his staff and his animals all the luck in the world. I hope they all make it out quickly and safely.

She didn't know it was going to be empty

There is so much naivity here.

When I saw that photo of the 'empty' plane I assumed it was staged.
It could have been a photo taken by her before anyone else boarded.
Or another plane.
Anything.

Some people here are so gullible and manipulated by the media.

@Beautiful3

He is just asking for.permission to be granted to fly himself, team and animals out of the country. He feels responsible for them, as they'll starve/be killed otherwise.

Yes, and the airspace and runways are used for bigger planes with more people on board.

My heart breaks at the thought of the desperate women and children in that crowd seeing animals loaded onto a plane.

This is the heart of the matter.

@ArcherDog apparently they have euthanised the older dogs who wouldn't be able to travel and released the feral ones back onto the streets. Some of the dogs they have were due to be rehomed in the US but the CDC put a stop to it a few months back and they were unable to rehome them.

*He's being cynical and making political points.

It's not as simple as people here suggest*
This has been going on a lot longer than this current media coverage, the government promised assistance, stalled and stalled and then with drew it. Hence having to fund raise for his own plane etc etc.

@Goofers

My heart breaks at the thought of the desperate women and children in that crowd seeing animals loaded onto a plane.

This is the heart of the matter.

It'll no doubt be peddled as look at what the West values over you etc.

There is so much naivity here.

Some people here are so gullible and manipulated by the media.

I'd rather be thought of as naive and gullible than hard, bitter and cynical like some.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

There is so much naivity here.

Some people here are so gullible and manipulated by the media.

I'd rather be thought of as naive and gullible than hard, bitter and cynical like some.

No , the other option is a realist. Not hard, bitter or cynical, but more discerning about what you read and take as the truth,

@BittaOrange

I am shocked that a ‘vehicle’ was airlifted out, what the hell was all that about?

It'll have 'essential communications equipment' in it.

A sat nav and mobile charger.

@EvilPea

He’s got a plane, he’s got the paperwork for the animals, he’s got jobs and visas for the staff He’s even got spare space for people on that plane. He just needs to have permission to land the damn thing

☝️ This. Plenty of Brits would adopt the animals. He has been caring for them and feels a responsibility to them. Refreshing in this selfish world.

Former West Country-based Royal Marine Pen Farthing has been told he can fly his staff and rescue animals out of Afghanistan after days of campaigning.

The 52-year-old, who is from Devon, was given the go ahead overnight by UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

It follows a campaign by Farthing, who has accused the Ministry of Defence of delaying his evacuation plans.

He had chartered a $500,000 plane to land at Kabul Airport and take his Nowzad charity workers and rescue animals out of the country.

@EvilPea

He’s got a plane, he’s got the paperwork for the animals, he’s got jobs and visas for the staff He’s even got spare space for people on that plane. He just needs to have permission to land the damn thing

But will his plane for his people and animals hold up other planes that are trying to get people who are in imminent danger out. There are limited landing slots, his wife left on a nearly empty plane because it had to take off before they could fill it as the next plane was waiting to land.

I think if a child, even one, dies because of it he should be held accountable.

This. Plenty of Brits would adopt the animals. He has been caring for them and feels a responsibility to them. Refreshing in this selfish world. I'm sure the people left behind will have a warm fuzzy feeling about it as they worry about their children surviving.

No-one knows what is going on out there. The MOD must have reasons for what they are doing on the ground and there must be a security reason for the car being on the plane. I love animals, but the time and effort to process and load all of these animals onto an aircraft when women and newborn babies could be processed instead makes this unreasonable in my eyes.

My heart breaks at the thought of the desperate women and children in that crowd seeing animals loaded onto a plane.

This is the heart of the matter.

No it is not - they are not taking space of humans - they are actually creating space for an extra 200 people to leave .

humans can not go in the hold

Oh I'm quite discerning thank you and I have chosen to believe in Pen Farthing's charity and his desire to help his staff (who are at great risk from Taliban) and animals. I've known about and supported Nowzad for years so this isn't a bandwagon I've just jumped on.

@Goofers

My heart breaks at the thought of the desperate women and children in that crowd seeing animals loaded onto a plane.

This is the heart of the matter.

The animals will go in the cargo compartment.

Desperate women and children don't go in the cargo compartment but could have gone where that Toyota car in the British airplane was accommodated.

The majority of the ones left at the shelter are there because they were unsuitable for rehoming.

That’s absolute bollocks. Check your facts.

I think he has used the media, the cute fluffy animals and the ex military angle to the hilt to open up the charity money tap and crank the pressure to the max to get paperwork clearance for his staff and more power to him. OK in an ideal world he would have quietly joined an orderly queue with his staff and everyone would have been processed in order of risk- maybe interpreters and people working on military or police bases first, then the likes of prostitutes who had done business with Western servicemen, then women working in a dog shelter run by an ex British soldier.

But life isn't like that and if I was in that scramble to survive I hope I would be using every edge I could to save "my" people that had worked with me for 15 years. I think he has used every resource and pulled every lever he can to secure their future. To start with his videos focused on the staff but I think he realised that worldwide attention (and therefore money for the plane, and also possibly the Taliban allowing his people safe passage to the airport) depended on the animals. I think - certainly early on- he took a calculated risk to stay himself knowing that "British hero ex Royal Marine tortured and beheaded outside his dog sanctuary as horrified staff look on knowing they are next" is a better headline to threaten Boris with than "a bunch of Afghan animal shelter staff you've never heard of massacred in Kabul as ex boss cries impotently back home in Blighty ". He was also realistic enough to give away any of the reasonably fit horses and donkeys to local families and euthanase some of the older more frail animals.

Fair dues to him he has played a blinder with the resources and time available to him.

they are actually creating space for an extra 200 people to leave .

How are they creating more landing and taking off slots and more space on the tarmac? That is the issue, as many pp have said, not space on a plane.

If the politicians and military leaders in charge of this mess had shown a little of the loyalty and determination and bravery of Pen Farthing maybe there wouldn't even be queues of desperate people waiting to get out.