Paul Farthing Biography – Wiki
Paul Farthing is a former Royal Marines commando and founder of the Nowzad Dogs charity. A former Royal Marine trapped in Kabul has said he will be forced to put his charity’s cats and dogs to sleep on the runway after the UK Secretary of Defense said he had to “put people first. about pets. ” However, there were new hopes for a full rescue on Wednesday, August 25.
Nowzad founder Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing said the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) had blocked a charity-funded charter flight to bring its 69 employees and 100 animals back to the UK after the hostile takeover of Afghanistan for the Taliban. Farthing claimed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had approved the flight, but the Defense Ministry had refused to grant the aircraft the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) aerial signal required to access the Kabul airfield.
Age
Paul Farthing’s age is unknown.
Animal Rescue
During his deployment to Afghanistan in 2006 as part of the Royal Marines in 42 Commando Royal Marines, Farthing and his troops broke up a fight between two dogs in the city of Nawzad. After this, one of the dogs followed Farthing and they ended up spending the next six months together, with the dog named Nowzad around town. After the end of his deployment, Farthing sought to bring the dog home to the UK. This inspired him to create the nonprofit Nowzad Dogs, a charity that seeks to reunite the military with the dogs and cats that befriended them, and humanely control Kabul’s stray dog and cat population through a TNVR program. The charity also helps animal welfare in Afghanistan, and Farthing says they built the first official animal rescue center in the country. In addition to reuniting ex-military men with dogs and cats, they knew from Afghanistan, Farthing through Nowzad has rescued animals for adoption by the public once they are brought to the UK. Among them was a dog named Wylie, who was adopted by Sarah Singleton. The dog competed in Scruffts 2014, the non-pedigree competition run by The Kennel Club in the UK, where he was named Dog of the Year. Farthing later wrote a book about Wylie, titled Wylie: The Brave Street Dog Who Never Gave Up, which was published in 2014.
Farthing was nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Daily Mirror and the RSPCA Animal Hero Awards in 2013. For his work with the charity Nowzad, he was named CNN Hero of 2014 “by CNN.
Put Down Animals in Kabul if Disallowed to Fly
“He could walk through doors as a British passport holder. They called him on Friday and I recommend that he take it,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News. “Your workforce has been offered, as authorized personnel, places and they will be able to be summoned, but I cannot guarantee in this window that they will be processed in aircraft, all I can say is that they qualify.”
He continued, “As for the animals that I was rescuing, it just isn’t going to be the case that I prioritize them over the men, women, and children we see in desperate need at the door. I’m sorry, but no. I don’t think The Taliban’s main target is their workforce and their animals, compared to the people at the front of the line. ”
Wallace said the Farthing-funded charter flight would “block the airfield and be empty” when British troops tried to secure the flow of people through barriers onto the planes. “I’m not prepared to prioritize pets over people,” Wallace insisted.
In response to Wallace, Farthing told Sky News that he had not received written confirmation that his staff had permission to fly to England. “If they stop me at a Taliban checkpoint with them, they will turn around and Mr. Wallace will know that I said I will not leave here without my staff,” he said. “So, I’m not just going to go to the airport and take a plane to make his problem go away.”
Farthing, who was a Royal Marine for more than two decades, added that his “hotline” to the Defense Ministry had been canceled and that he no longer receives updates. “He has abandoned me here in Afghanistan and wants me to keep quiet, not under my supervision, Mr. Wallace,” Farthing added.
If he does not have his animals with him he and his staff can board an RAF flight. I have been consistent all along, ensuring those most at risk are processed first and that the limiting factor has been flow THROUGH to airside NOT airplane capacity. @DefenceHQ
— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) August 25, 2021
The veteran said that he understood that British troops could not help him get to the airport and stated that “that is my problem.” He was sure that he would lead his staff and his animals to the gates of the airfield. “If they don’t let me get on that plane, I’ll have to put all my cats and dogs to sleep on the runway,” Farthing said.
However, there were new hopes for a full rescue on Wednesday. Wallace admitted in a series of tweets that officials would allow Farthing, his staff, and his animals to leave on the chartered plane if he managed to get them to the airport.
“Now that the Pen Farthing staff have been cleared to file under the LOTR, I have empowered MOD to facilitate their processing along with the rest of the eligible staff at (Kabul airport). At that time, if you arrive with your animals, we will seek a place for his plane, “Wallace explained in a tweet. “If he doesn’t have his animals with him, he and his staff can board an RAF flight. I have been consistent the entire time, making sure that those most at risk are processed first and that the limiting factor has been the flow to the area of operations, not the capacity of the plane. “He added:” No one has the right in this humanitarian crisis to jump the queue. ”
