Dame Judi Dench and Downton Abbey actor Peter Egan have urged the Government to take a stronger stance against the “horrors” of the dog meat trade in Asia.

At a campaign briefing in Westminster today, Peter broke down as he described how dogs are stolen from the streets, skinned and boiled alive in countries such as China, Thailand and South Korea.

Peter Egan at the briefing on the dog meat trade
Peter Egan was one of the stars at the briefing ( Stefan Rousseau/PA)

He told MPs that Britain must do more to press its animal rights culture on to countries which continue to inflict “horrendous cruelty” on dogs and encourage the Foreign Office to make it a “political issue”.

He was supported by James Bond veteran Dame Judi, who attended with her new partner, conservationist David Mills, and fellow Downton Abbey actress Lesley Nicol.

Dame Judi Dench and David Mills listen to the briefing
Dame Judi Dench attended with conservationist David Mills (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Dog lover Peter, who has six rescue dogs and is an ambassador for welfare charity Animals Asia, said: “(The dog meat trade) is so shocking that whenever I talk about it, people tend to turn away.

“Just a recollection about it is so upsetting. It’s such a cruel trade that the moment I was introduced to it I couldn’t resist becoming involved and I will dedicate the rest of my life to trying to get it stopped.

“I’m hoping that we can raise political awareness. I hope our MPs here and their colleagues in the Foreign Office and embassies will have these animal welfare discussions with their counterparts in Asia and say ‘look, we are concerned that this is happening and can we help you develop your animal welfare regulation’ so the dog meat trade in particular can be put to an end.

Dame Judi Dench (centre) and David Mills (left) attend a brief about the dog meat trade in Asia
(Stefan Rousseau/PA)

“The message isn’t to tell people in other countries that they’re cruel or culturally wrong or they don’t have the right to do what they do but instead to say ‘do you think it’s a fair deal that you cruelly abuse this animal so that you can have a casserole’.”

According to the campaign, an estimated five million dogs are killed annually in Vietnam, many of which are stolen from the streets in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia by illegal gangs, while in China the dogs are bred in cramped and unhygienic farms.

The event was in conjunction with five international animal welfare charities, including International Wildlife Coalition Trust, which campaign for the humane treatment of dogs across the world.