Paul “Pen” Farthing is on his way home from Kabul with his cats and dogs - but they could face being put down in the UK if they have disease, a Whitehall official has reportedly said.
The Sunday Times 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.”
A spokesperson for Farthing said that he is now heading back with his animals - but they are not out of danger yet, a Whitehall senior official has claimed.
The Sunday Times has said the official has predicted the animals may well have to be destroyed due to carrying disease.
He is reported to have said: "If they turn out to be riddled with disease, Defra will have to put them down. It will be Geronimo the alpaca on speed.”
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.
It comes as the animal welfare story over Geronimo the alpaca remains in the headlines.
Geronimo is sentenced to be put down by Defra having twice tested positive for bovine tuberculosis but the animals owner, Helen Macdonald believes that the tests are returning false positives.
The destruction warrant is valid until September 4 and Ms Macdonald wants the Defra to allow Geronimo to be tested for a third time or let him live to aid research into the disease.
