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Pen Farthing’s plane with 173 dogs and cats lands in UK from Afghanistan – but animals ‘could be put down’
PEN Farthing has landed safely in London Heathrow with his 173 dogs and cats after his heartbreak at leaving devoted staff behind.
The ex-Royal Marine is understood to be immediately boarding a connecting flight to Norway to visit his wife Kaisa Markhus.
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Nearly 200 animals he was travelling with from Kabul will reportedly now have to quarantine under UK law.
But there is a chance the dogs and cats could be put down if they are found to have any diseases.
The grim scenario would be like Geronimo the doomed alpaca "on speed", a Whitehall source told .
Pen's charted jet stopped at Muscat after leaving war-torn Afghanistan before arriving in London today.
Pen's pet charity Nowzad confirmed last night that the former Royal Marine was "safely" out of Kabul, along with the rescued animals.
Nowzad revealed on Facebook: "We are relieved to confirm that Pen and the Nowzad animals [have] left Afghanistan and are now safe.
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"However, we still have much to do as our wonderful team in Kabul were not allowed through the final barrier.
"It was a devastating blow to us. We are now working extremely hard to get them evacuated and will not rest until they too are safe.
"Our thoughts for now are with our staff and the many people and animals who have also been left behind.
"We will do our utmost to help them."
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It comes after a leaked recording claimed Pen left an expletive-laden message for an aide to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace earlier this week.
He accused the government aide of "blocking" efforts to evacuate him and his animals from Kabul and threatened to "destroy" him on social media, according to .
EVACUATION EFFORT
Pen's wife Kaisa was evacuated out of Afghanistan last week on an almost empty plane and finally arrived home on August 19.
She and a pregnant American friend had to push their way through a sea of men, women and children to get to an access gate.
The final flight from Kabul landed at RAF Brize Norton this morning - ending the biggest military evacuation in 80 years.
Pen's dramatic evacuation has gripped the nation, particularly as his Afghan members of staff and their families were forced to stay behind by the Taliban.
He had been attempting to get 69 people, as well as the animals, out of the country when President Joe Biden "changed policy" on who could evacuate.
His convoy was 300 metres inside the airport perimeter in Kabul when they were turned back by the Taliban on Thursday.
Moments later, at least 169 people - including 13 US servicemen, two British men and the teenage child of a third UK national - were killed in a deadly suicide blast outside the airport.
Pen's courageous staff later told him to go without them.
He told The Sun of his heartbreak at leaving his staff: “It is just so depressing I had to leave them behind."
And he said there were "lots of tears" as he walked away from them.
"I feel very sad for them [but] I’m relieved for me and I feel happy for the animals.”
DEFENCE HELP
Pen packed 125kg of dry pet food, 72 tins, 270 litres of water, 12 industrial size rolls of paper towel and 20 bottles of disinfectant for mucking out the crates during the private rescue flight.
The drama has put huge pressure on British officials who were desperately trying to evacuate as many as possible before flights stopped today.
As a British passport holder, Pen has always been at the front of the queue for evacuation.
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However, he had refused to leave without his animals or staff.
Defence Minister Ben Wallace has repeatedly told Brits he'll "prioritise people over pets".
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