Today, the focus of this blog shifts exceptionally to an emergency situation outside of Sweden.
@Nowzad and @PenFarthing need help NOW!
www.nowzad.com
#Nowzad is a frontline animal charity that has worked for years to help the animals in #Afghanistan, while training and educating the local population. They are in grave danger and must be helped to leave ASAP!
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Here is the latest update on the “Rescue the Animal Rescuers” campaign:
www.facebook.com/nowzadrescue
Rescue the Animal Rescuers
Ricky Gervais, Dame Judy Dench and Peter Egan join calls for Boris Johnson and the Government to rescue animal rescuers from the Taliban.
As the Taliban closes in on Kabul and an emergency evacuation begins before the city falls, an urgent campaign “Rescue the Animal Rescuers” has been established to call on the Prime Minister and British Government to include on the British Rescue list, vets, vet nurses, animal care staff and their immediate family members, who are working for two British animal welfare charities in Kabul, Nowzad and the Mayhew.
Both these charities have worked for over a decade in Afghanistan in the most dangerous of conditions to vaccinate and neuter street dogs, put in place rabies control programmes, care for working animals and re home rescue dogs and cats in Britain and around the world.
They have invested millions of pounds from donors to set up veterinary clinics and animal care centres and to train a new generation of Afghan men and women to become qualified vets and vet nurses, which has led to a significant improvement in animal welfare in Afghanistan.
However, with American and NATO forces withdrawing from Afghanistan and the Taliban about to regain control of the country, this work can no longer continue and the dedicated animal rescuers of Afghanistan are now to be left at the mercy of the Taliban.
For many of the young women working as vets and vet nurses they face forced marriage to Taliban leaders under the threat of rape or death and many of the men could also face deadly reprisals from the Taliban, particularly for assisting NATO forces and contractors in caring for their military and security dogs.
Britain is desperately short of qualified vets and vet nurses and all the veterinary care teams that work for Nowzad and the Mayhew could quickly find employment in veterinary surgeries in Britain if they were rescued from Kabul.
Dominic Dyer a leading animal welfare campaigner and writer who helped start the Rescue the Animal Rescuers campaign said
“Over the last decade through the incredible work of Nowzad and the Mayhew a new generation of Afghan men and women have been educated and empowered to bring about a significant improvement in animal welfare in Afghanistan. These men and women have worked tirelessly and courageously in the most dangerous of conditions to save and protect animals and have become an inspiration to the world.
We cannot leave these brave and compassionate people behind to face violent reprisals, rape or murder at the hands of the Taliban, as a nation of animal lover we must step up and rescue the animal rescuers.”
Ricky Gervais comedian actor, director and producer said
“Pen Farthing and his team Nowzad have done amazing work for over a decade in Kabul, they have saved thousands of dogs and provided work for the local community and instigated educational programmes which have benefited their community. Their lives are now in danger. They need our help now.”
Actress Dame Judi Dench said:
“So much constructive work will be destroyed. Pen Farthing and his team at Nowzad have achieved so much in terms of animal welfare and educational work benefiting the local community, particularly for the women Nowzad has sponsored to become qualified vets. All of their lives are now threatened by the Taliban.”
Actor and animal welfare campaigner Peter Egan said:
I visited Pen Farthing and Nowzad in Kabul in 2013. I was so impressed by the inspiring work he and his team were doing that I became their patron/ambassador. Working in a war zone has always made extraordinary demands on this wonderful charity, demands that were met by Pen and his team. Now that the Taliban will certainly overrun Kabul in the next few days, his life and the lives of all of his team are in danger. They need our help, and we must not ignore them in their hour of need. We must get Pen, his team and his animals to safety. It is not impossible to achieve; it just takes commitment. The same support is needed for The Mayhew and their staff. Let’s get this done.
Actress Lesley Nicol said:
Pen Farthing is a truly unique and amazing man – he is kind, compassionate and has achieved extraordinary things in Kabul – changing the lives of his staff and his 100 plus animals.
And he is now in a frightening and hellish situation as things become more and more dangerous. He needs our support right now.
Dr Iain McGill, veterinary scientist and practicing vet said:
“The Mayhew and Nowzad have done fantastic work for the animals and veterinary science of Afghanistan. A rescue plan needs to be put in place immediately – they cannot now be left at the mercy of the Taliban. The men will be killed and the women raped or sold as sex slaves. As the Taliban enter Kabul, the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence must get them out of there within hours. Whether by helicopter or cargo plane – UK Government has a duty to act now, and the veterinary profession needs to pile on pressure for that.”
For more details on the work of Nowzad see https://www.nowzad.com/
For more details on the work of the Mayhew see https://themayhew.org/
For media contact on the Rescue the Rescuers campaign contact Dominic Dyer on 07876 596233 or [email protected]
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