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Judi Dench Funds Aspiring Actors And Works To Abolish The Cruel Dog Meat Trade

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:00 PST, Oct 8, 2016

Judi Dench, Dame Commander of the British Empire, is truly living up to her knighthood.

Being a chivalrous celebrity and thespian, Judi Dench has always strived for the welfare of aspiring actors who seek to establish themselves successfully in the British theater. Recently, Judi Dench highlighted the crisis experienced by many theater aspirants who were finding it difficult to pursue their passion due to a scarcity of funds. In fact, a number of actors had written letters to the veteran actress to support their training. Moved by the petition, Judi Dench personally intervened and offered her help to sponsor the training of a talented actor who couldn’t afford the ever-rising costs of the theater school.

Moreover, the thespian has volunteered to not only prepare him for the theater, but she has also shown her willingness to mentor him throughout his career. As an alumna of the Old Vic Company, the National Theatre Company, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, it seems natural for Judi Dench to feel sympathy upon witnessing the present-day struggles of aspiring theater actors.

Judi Dench has particularly appealed to set up regional theater companies to finance students after Britain experienced the demise of the repertoire theater.

Apart from working towards the welfare of the British Theatre, the Philomena actress is contributing to cherish the memories of those artists who were lovingly regarded to be a part of Britain’s National Treasure. BBC reports that Judi Dench has donated £1,000 to build Victoria Wood’s statue to commemorate the British comedian who died recently after losing her battle to cancer.

Judi Dench was always regarded with esteem by Victoria Wood, a knighted celebrity, who often remarked that Judi was one of Britain’s true national treasures. Now, Judi Dench is also extending her chivalry to help save lives of millions of South Korean dogs who are reared to be butchered to prepare “boshintang,” a dog soup. Judi Dench has joined with other British celebrities like Peter Egan, Jenny Seagrove, and Jilly Cooper to appeal to Boris Johnson, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, to put pressure on South Korean authorities to bring an end to the cruel dog meat trade. According to the Mirror, a number of animal welfare activists had earlier protested against the cruel treatment meted out to the dogs that are killed by either electrocution or hanging.

Now, activists from across the world are calling for urgent media attention as South Korea will be the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. As a part of their efforts to stop the cruel practice, Judi Dench and other British dignitaries have signed a petition that urges Boris Johnson to exercise his diplomatic prowess to encourage the South Korean government to stop the brutal practice.

Earlier, there were massive protests against the exporting of Greyhound racing dogs to China. According to Starts At 60, the United Kingdom’s Humane Society International, the coordinating body of the campaign, has stressed upon the timing and the appropriateness of the newly launched campaign.

“This debate is a vital chance for MPs to discuss measures to stop the uniquely cruel intensive farming of up to 3 million dogs each year in South Korea.”

Besides carrying on with her acts of compassion, the 81-year-old Judi Dench is continuing to play protective characters that have combative skills. Earlier, Judi Dench played the role of M, the Head of the Secret Intelligence Service, in James Bond movies from 1995 to 2012. In fact, Skyfall, the 2012 James Bond movie, depicted Judi Dench’s M as an expert in home-made explosives.

The upcoming film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will show Judi Dench wielding a crossbow to fight evil beings that are on a mission to kill peculiar children with extraordinary capabilities. According to Express magazine, Judi Dench plays the role of Miss Avocet, the headmistress of the school who is unsuccessful in protecting her school against the invasion of evil creatures.

Later, Miss Avocet is shown to escape the carnage and take care of Miss Peregrine, the protagonist of the film.

[Featured Image by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images]

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