Group that rescued dogs in Afghanistan says CDC policy stopped transport of K-9s from airport

An animal rescue group in Afghanistan is blaming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the reason dozens of dogs were left at the Kabul airport after U.S. troops left on Monday.

Outrage directed at the Biden administration erupted on social media after photos posted to Twitter over the weekend appearing to show dogs in cages at the Kabul airport went viral, but the Pentagon denied rumors that the U.S. military left any dogs behind amid its exit.

“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,” DOD spokesman John Kirby said in a Tuesday statement. “Photos circulating online were animals under the care of the Kabul Small Animal Rescue, not dogs under our care.”

The Kabul Small Animal Rescue (KSAR), a partner of the nonprofit Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) International, in turn blamed a new CDC rabies policy for the reason 130 dogs in its care were left at the airport in a message that SPCA shared on behalf of KSAR’s founder, Charlotte Maxwell-Jones.

Some of the dogs we are trying to get to safety. #OperationHercules pic.twitter.com/uQqmbLF37W

— Kabul Small Animal Rescue (@KSAnimalRescue) August 29, 2021

“The [CDC’s] recently enacted policy suspending transports of dogs from Afghanistan and more than 100 other nations into the U.S., was another terrible impediment, despite our negotiations and pleadings,” the SPCA said in a press release, referencing the CDC’s temporary suspension of dogs imported from high-risk countries for dog rabies implemented in July. – READ MORE