PRESSURE is mounting on the Government to intervene to get a British animal sanctuary boss and his staff out of Afghanistan as a York fundraising campaign nears £20,000.

A leading animal welfare activist campaigning to get a British veteran out of Afghanistan has urged the UK and US governments to “get a grip” on the “anarchy” still unfolding at Kabul airport.

Dominic Dyer set up Rescue the Animal Rescuers campaign, which is pressuring the Prime Minister to evacuate ex-marine Paul Farthing along with the Afghan staff at his animal sanctuary, Nowzad, who he has said he will not leave without.

But Mr Farthing shared a video on Wednesday night showing gunshots being fired at Kabul Airport, saying there was a “humanitarian disaster” and urging Boris Johnson and other leaders: “You MUST get a grip of this. NOW.”

The veteran, known as Pen, said in a Tweet: “We are NOT moving. No permission from Boris Johnson and how would we get through this with families and animals?”

Mr Dyer said he had been in touch with Pen and the airport was still “utter chaos”.

Speaking late on Wednesday night, he said: “It’s still utter chaos… it looks even worse to be honest in terms of what’s going on there tonight.

“Gunshots are being fired and people are going in all directions, it’s just absolute chaos.

“I don’t know why it is that Washington and London can’t get a grip on it.

“Tomorrow I think there’s going to be a whole mounting crisis because it’s clear that that airport is just complete anarchy.”

He added he believes there has been progress in the mission to get Mr Farthing’s staff on the list of people the UK Government will provide sanctuary for, but the airport mayhem means it is currently still not physically possible to get them out.

“Pen’s been trying to talk to the British Government about what the options are for getting people out and I think we’re progressing that,” he said.

“We know in Government the wheels are moving.

“But the problem is how you physically get people into that airport. When it comes to nightfall it seems to get worse.

“He is extremely frustrated, angry, unhappy and concerned and he feels that there’s not many people on the ground in Kabul actually trying to explain what’s going on.”

Mr Dyer said he has spoken with Government ministers and Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie to “put pressure on him”.

Mr Farthing previously said that Western governments who once gave people in Afghanistan hope have now “abandoned them to the wolves”.

After serving in the Afghan province of Helmand in the mid-2000s, he set up Nowzad sanctuary which has been rescuing stray dogs, cats and other animals for 15 years.

He has urged the British Government to help his staff, their dependants and the animals leave Afghanistan under a campaign called Operation Ark, which aims to fundraise £200,000.

The veteran said he will not leave the country without the 71 refugees.

A team of 24 Afghan nationals treat and look after 140 dogs and more than 40 cats at Nowzad.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.

In York a bid to help rescue Mr Farthing and his team of vets has raised close to £20,000 in a matter of days.

As The Press earlier this week, VetPartners, which has it’s headquarters at Clifton Moor in York, has offered employment to members of the Nowzad veterinary team.

A spokesman for VetPartners said the groups 160 practices across the UK want to help repatriate the team members and cats and dogs in the care of Nowzad, Afghanistan’s first official animal sanctuary.

Efforts to help Nowzad have also been backed by York-born actress Dame Judi Dench.

VetPartners CEO Jo Malone, who is based at Spitfire House in Clifton Moor, said: “Our family of practices across the UK care passionately about this cause and have really got behind our campaign and so too have their clients and people in the wider community.

“Out of the gloom of this situation has come a ray of light – thank to some really lovely people who have donated. We want to say a big thank you to everyone who has donated and we hope the donations will continue.”

In Afghanistan British troops are racing against the clock to get remaining UK nationals and their local allies out of the country following the dramatic fall of the country’s Western-backed government and the Taliban takeover.

Dame Judi said: “So much constructive work will be destroyed. Pen Farthing and his team at Nowzad have achieved so much in terms of animal welfare and educational work benefitting the local community, particularly for the women Nowzad has sponsored to become qualified vets. All of their lives are now threatened by the Taliban.”

Click here to help with the fundraising effort.