Dozens of dogs have been abandoned by the US military in Afghanistan, according to an animal welfare charity.
American Humane condemned the ‘death sentence’ for the dogs that were allegedly left behind by the US troops in Afghanistan.
The group claims that the abandoned animals will now face ‘torture’ at the hands of the Taliban.
American Humane has called on Congress to rescue the dogs.
“I am devastated by reports that the American government is pulling out of Kabul and leaving behind brave US military contract working dogs to be tortured and killed at the hand of our enemies,” American Humane’s CEO Robin R. Ganzert said in a statement.
“These brave dogs do the same dangerous, lifesaving work as our military working dogs, and deserved a far better fate than the one to which they have been condemned,” Ganzert said in a statement. “This senseless fate is made all the more tragic, as American Humane stands ready to not only help transport these contract K-9 soldiers to US soil but also to provide for their lifetime medical care.”
Ganzert added that American Humane ‘has worked hand in hand with the military for more than 100 years to rescue military animals,’ adding that the group ‘brings home retired military working dogs and pairs veterans with life-saving service dogs.’
Ganzert’s organization has worked with the military for more than a century to rescue stranded military animals, having previously worked in World War One.
Working dogs are usually owned by private contractors to work with military dogs who are owned by the Department of Defense, often performing similar duties.
“As the country’s first national humane organization and largest certifier of animal welfare in the world, it sickens us to sit idly by and watch these brave dogs who valiantly served our country be put to death or worse,” Ganzert added.
“In order to prevent this tragedy from occurring, these K-9’s should be loaded into whatever cargo space remains and flown to safety,” Ganzert said. “Irrespective of the outcome, this gross oversight of justice must be stopped from happening again, as it did in Vietnam too. ”
“To that end, we call on Congress to take action to classify contract working dogs on the same level as military working dogs,” Ganzert continued. “Failure to do anything less is a failure of humanity and a condemnation of us all.”
Meanwhile, Pentagon’s Press Secretary John Kirby made it clear that the dogs that were left behind belong to the Kabul Small Animal Rescue charity which was founded by American Charlotte Maxwell-Jones.
“To correct erroneous reports, the U.S. Military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including the reported military working dogs,” Kirby tweeted on Tuesday. “Photos circulating online were animals under the care of the Kabul Small Animal Rescue, not dogs under our care.”
Based on a recent update from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Maxwell-Jones has been campaigning to get 46 working dogs, along with a number of other dogs that belong to fleeing Americans, to be evacuated from Kabul.
But according to a Pentagon statement, the military was unable to evacuate the animals from Kabul before the final evacuation plane left the airport. While working dogs are not considered as US military dogs, some were still used by the troops in activities in Afghanistan.
Aside from the dogs, there are up to 200 US citizens still in Afghanistan after the US withdrew its final troops, bringing an end to the 20-year war.
Biden has been heavily criticized for breaking his promise to stay until all citizens were evacuated to safety after he pulled out the last forces 24 hours before the August 31 deadline.
The US has also left as many as 70 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, 27 Humvees, and 73 aircraft in Afghanistan, although much of the equipment has been disabled.
According to General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, the aircraft were ‘demilitarised,’ or rendered useless, before US soldiers wrapped up the evacuation mission.
McKenzie said that the Pentagon left behind around 70 MRAP armored tactical vehicles – which can cost up to $1 million apiece – were made sure that the vehicles were disabled before leaving, and 27 Humvees.
Before the last US troops left, also disabled aircraft and armored vehicles, as well as a high-tech rocket defense system at the airport.