Ex-UK Marine leaves Kabul with dogs, cats but no local staff

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. Animal welfare campaigner Dominic Dyer, who has acted as a U.K.-based spokesman for Farthing, said the plane was due to land at London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday.