‘I won’t leave the country without my animals’
Ex-Royal Marine, Paul “Pen” Farthing knows the reality of fighting the Taliban all too well. He served in the Helmand Province during his deployment in Afghanistan in 2006, during which two of his fellow Marines were tragically killed.
But after his tour ended,
Pen found himself back in Afghanistan – this time fighting to protect the many stray dogs and cats that roam the streets. He created his charity, Nowzad, which seeks to reunite servicemen with animals who befriended them abroad.
PLEA
As the Taliban gained control of the country last week, Pen refused to leave without the 71 staff who work for him, and the 140 dogs, 60 cats, 12 donkeys, two horses, one goat and one cow in his care. He’s pleaded with the government for help with his evacuation mission, which he’s dubbed Operation Ark, and has appealed for donations to raise almost £146k to charter a cargo plane to the UK. While Boris Johnson said he will do “everything to help”, as Closer went to press, Pen, his staff and his animals were still no nearer to getting home.
Pen said, “I need to get them out of here. I’m not leaving them behind. I’m terrified, everybody is absolutely terrified of what the future holds. My staff have teenage daughters and I can’t even comprehend what is going to happen to young female Afghans… married off to a Taliban fighter and forced to basically be a baby-making machine.”
Pen was inspired to start his charity while serving in the remote Afghan outpost of Now
Zad. It was there that he and his troop broke up an organised dog fight taking place outside of their compound. Pen said, “We broke up that dog fight not realising that one of those dogs was actually going to adopt me.”
Pen named his new fourlegged friend Nowzad, after the town, and they became inseparable. And, after his tour ended, Pen fought to bring Nowzad home to be with him in the UK. But not content with saving just one animal, he launched his charity, which is named after his dog.
BLEAK FATE
But now, the fate of Pen’s animals is bleak. During the Taliban’s previous rule, pet ownership was banned, as animals were deemed unclean.
Dr Ben Sturgeon is a vet with SPANA, the charity for working animals. He says that during war, animals always suffer.
Ben says, “In any emergency, be it climactic or conflict, animals will inevitably be abandoned. They will need to source their own food and water, which they aren’t used to doing. They will end up mixing more and spread disease, they will be unvaccinated. They will starve and if they are injured they will heal badly.
“We have to lobby governments, the UN and
WHO to reply not only to the humanitarian crisis, but also the crisis in animal welfare.”
For now, all Pen and his staff can do is hope that help will come for them.
By Kristina Beanland and Mel Fallowfield
● Pen Farthing and the Nowzad team need funds to help them get out of Afghanistan. To donate go to nowzad.com