Ex-UK Marine Leaves Kabul With Dogs, Cats but No Local Staff

Ex-UK Marine Leaves Kabul With Dogs, Cats but No Local Staff
In this satellite photo taken by Planet Labs Inc., a Taliban checkpoint is seen blocking access just south of Kabul's international airport, in Afghanistan, on Aug. 28, 2021. Planet Labs Inc. via AP
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LONDON—A former UK Royal Marine who waged a high-profile campaign to leave Afghanistan with almost 200 rescued dogs and cats has flown to safety—with the animals, but without his charity’s Afghan staff, who were left behind in Kabul.

A privately funded chartered plane carrying Paul “Pen” Farthing and his animals took off from Kabul late Saturday after a saga that gripped and divided Britain, raising difficult questions about the relative value placed on human and animal lives.