As governments scramble to evacuate personnel from Afghanistan following its fall to the Taliban on Sunday, animal shelter staff, campaigners and veterinary associations are calling on Boris Johnson not to leave those who work with animals behind.

Pen Farthing, an ex-marine who founded the Kabul-based animal charity Nowzad, has urged the government to rescue Nowzad’s 71 staff and as many of its animals as possible. The charity has trained women to become vets who are now in danger of reprisals from the Taliban. The animals under the care of Nowzad that cannot be flown out of the country may have to be euthanised to save them from potentially being shot by the Taliban.

Campaigners including Dominic Dyer and Peter Egan have been advocating for the Nowzad team and animals, with Dyer asking on Talk Radio “what sort of nation are we” if Britain can’t take in this “small group of very compassionate animal defenders and their families”. Egan has urged British people to contact Johnson and their local MPs to bring the staff to the UK.

A group of UK veterinary associations have also written to Boris Johnson asking for Afghan vets and vet nurses, along with their families, who have worked with and for UK-affiliated charities and NGOs such as Nowzad and the Mayhew Afghanistan to be added to the emergency evacuation list. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Refugee Council are offering financial assistance for resettled refugees with veterinary degrees to become practising vets in the UK.

Nowzad has launched #OperationArk to raise £200,000 to charter an aircraft in the hope of evacuating 98 dogs and 88 cats from Kabul. Donations can be made here.

Visit www.nowzad.com/donate.

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Claire Hamlett is a freelance journalist, writer and regular contributor at Surge. Based in Oxford, UK, Claire tells stories that challenge systemic exploitation of and disregard for animals and the environment and that point to a better way of doing things.

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