A NATIONWIDE vet firm is offering jobs to a team of veterinarians who are looking for safe passage out of Afghanistan.

VetPartners, a York-based company, which has branches across the UK – including several in South Wales, is currently fundraising to help animal charity Nowzad, who are located in the stricken country.

This week, bosses at VetPartners have offered jobs to Nowzad’s vets, at practices across the nation.

What’s more, VetPartners launched a fundraiser to help the charity and its people.

Originally, the Just Giving page had a target of £5,000, but, at the time of writing, £21,455 has been raised.

The money being raised is to help repatriate the charity’s staff, and their cats and dogs.

  • Everyone loves their furry (and sometimes not so furry) friends – and we want to meet yours. Whether you’ve got dogs, cats, rodents, birds, lizards or something even more exotic, tell us – and our readers – all about your faithful friends. Click here to submit information and pictures.

Nowzad care for animals struggling in Afghanistan.

However, in recent days, the Middle Eastern country has fallen to the Taliban, just days after Western troops withdrew.

As a result, a huge effort to rescue refugees from Afghanistan is underway, after the world was shocked by footage from Kabul airport, where civilians were seen desperate to flee.

Should efforts to repatriate the charity workers prove to be successful, VetPartners have said that they will attempt to employ the staff at their 160 branches.

In South Wales, there are a number of practices under the VetPartners umbrella.

Read more local news

List of VetPartners branches in Gwent and Monmouthshire

Abbey Veterinary Centres Abergavenny

Where? St Arvans Chambers, Hereford Road, Abergavenny, NP7 5PR

Abbey Veterinary Centres Monmouth

Where? 2 Drybridge Street, Monmouth, NP25 5AD

Abbey Veterinary Centres Tredegar

Where? 1 & 2 Commercial Street, Tredegar, NP22 3DH

Valley Vets

Where? Oakfield Street, Ystrad Mynach, CF82 7AF

Valley Vets

Where? 6 Van Road, Caerphilly, CF83 1LB

What has been said about the efforts?

A post on the VetPartners LinkedIn page reads: “VetPartners has pledged to employ members of the Nowzad veterinary team in our family of practices to help secure their safe passage from Afghanistan.

“Many of us across VetPartners have been dismayed to see the suffering in Afghanistan and the plight of Nowzad, Afghanistan’s first official animal sanctuary.

“The charity’s animal shelter and veterinary clinic was set up by ex-Royal Marine Commando Pen Farthing, who is fundraising to hire a cargo plane to fly out his colleagues and as many of their dogs and cats as possible in a mission called Operation Ark, as the charity faces the heartbreaking prospect of putting rescue animals in their care to sleep.”

The Just Giving appeal helping out Nowzad can be found here.