The Taliban go big on animal welfare

ANIMAL WELFARE was not considered a big priority for the Taliban when they rolled back into Kabul in August 2021. A Kabul-based animal-rescue charity called Nowzad, run by a former British soldier, created such a fuss in the British press that Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, permitted it to load 94 stray dogs and 68 cats onto one of the last flights out of the country. They were the lucky ones. Kabul’s street-dog population ballooned as Afghans abandoned their pooches before fleeing the country.