The animals evacuated from Afghanistan by Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing could face being put down on arrival to the UK if they have diseases, a Whitehall official has reportedly said.
Speaking to The Sunday Times the source said the situation would be like Geronimo the alpaca – an animal awaiting destruction to due testing positive for Bovine TB – “on speed”.
Farthing, a former Royal Marine, has succeeded in getting his rescue animals flown out of Afghanistan after a high-profile campaign where he has been scathing about the government’s attitude.
He has denied that he wants to see animals’ lives put before humans and that they can go in the cargo hold of planes, but public opinion has been divided and many have said that valuable time has been wasted in dealing with the matter.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace attacked Farthing’s supporters for “taking up too much time” of senior commanders.
An offensive, expletive-ridden message from Farthing to Peter Quentin, a special advisor for Wallace, has also been published by the Sunday Times.
It includes saying that Farthing would “spend the rest of my time F-ing destroying you on social media and every other F-ing platform I can find.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a charter flight was waiting for the 94 dogs and 79 cats to be taken out of Afghanistan.
When they arrive in the UK they will need to be cleared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Related: ‘Progress is inevitable’: The history-making duo vying to lead the Greens
