The defence secretary has cleared a private flight out of Kabul arranged by a British Royal Marine veteran who is determined to evacuate not only the staff who work at his animal shelter, but also some 200 cats and dogs. Paul Farthing founded the Nowzad shelter after serving with the British Army in Afghanistan in the mid-2000s, to rescue dogs, cats, and donkeys. Since the fall of Kabul, he has been pushing for 68 visas for his staff and dependents, and making arrangements for 140 dogs and 60 cats to be rescued by a private charter flight in what he has dubbed Operation Ark. Farthing announced his staff had been granted visas on Aug. 24, but the fate of Operation Ark was thrown into doubt after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he had to prioritise the evacuation of “people over pets.” Wallace said that a privately-arranged charter plane did not …