22 Nov 2022
A charity helping a group of Afghan veterinary professionals evacuated following the Taliban takeover says it may have to close its animal shelter to keep supporting them.
Allister Webb
Job TitleA charity helping a group of Afghan veterinary professionals evacuated following the Taliban takeover says it may have to close its animal shelter to keep supporting them.
One member of the group moved through the Operation Magic Carpet (OMC) initiative last year said he and his compatriots have been “forgotten” by the UK Government, despite industry bodies’ pleas for action.
But the crisis has deepened following a grim warning from Paws Unite People (PUP), a US charity that has been supporting them in recent months.
The organisation needs to raise about US$40,000 (£34,000) a month to help the OMC evacuees, plus another group from the Kabul Small Animal Rescue (KSAR), and keep its shelter operating.
But, for the first time in nearly a year, the charity said it has not been able to raise enough to cover all the associated costs, despite last-minute donations and fund‑raising totalling about US$20,000 (£17,000).
It is feared the shortfall could leave the OMC group facing eviction from their accommodation.
A spokesperson described the situation as “emotionally exhausting” and vowed PUP would not abandon either group, but warned that may force them into an equally agonising decision.
She said: “I don’t know what I’m going to do if we don’t get help. I don’t want to have to close our animal shelter, but I can’t condemn people to die. None of them can go back. We have to keep them safe.”
At least 18 OMC vets and VNs, plus their families, have been housed in temporary accommodation near Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
A fund‑raising deadline to prevent the group from being evicted, and then potentially sent back to Afghanistan, was met in October, although it is not yet clear if they have been forced out due to the current financial situation.
PUP hopes to move a further 169 people in the KSAR group to the US, but the charity said that effort is being hampered by immigration and refugee processing backlogs that mean it could take several more months to complete.
The charity estimates it needs to raise a further US$170,000 (£144,000) to pay for the necessary documentation that would allow the OMC group to leave Pakistan.
But its spokesperson insisted the charity will keep helping people who, it says, have been “abandoned”.
She added: “We are committed to continue to work on the welfare of the 230 staffers and families who asked for help. We will not abandon them. They are our friends and rescue colleagues.”
Donations to help PUP can be made online.
The charity’s latest warning comes several weeks after leading UK veterinary organisations – including the BVA, BVNA and RCVS – demanded urgent Government action to enable the OMC group to come to Britain.
One of the vets who spoke to Vet Times from Pakistan said their group should be treated in the same way as staff from the charity Nowzad, who were airlifted to Britain following a high‑profile campaign, because they were doing the same work.
He said: “We have been forgotten by the UK Government.”
Another of the group said they had been branded “infidels” and “spies” in social media postings that appear to be linked to the Taliban, and she dreaded to think about what may happen if they are forced to return to Afghanistan.
She added: “Our hopes have been dashed and promises said were broken.”
It is understood no response has been made to the three groups’ call, while the Foreign Office has also failed to respond to two separate requests for comment from Vet Times about the group’s situation.
But a Defra spokesperson said: “The veterinary profession is currently on the Shortage Occupation List, meaning that employers are able to access fully qualified veterinary surgeons free of any cap on numbers.”
However, the Home Office has commissioned a new review of the list.
Meanwhile, an online petition demanding fast-track visas for vets and VNs to enter Britain, along with the establishment of a cost of living crisis fund for animals, has already had more than 3,000 signatures. Supporters can sign it online.
