Dog-lover takes fight against animal cruelty to the top as politicians and celebrities back her cause

Shoshanna Mitchell (in orange, front right) organised a Parliamentary briefing on ending the dog meat trade in South East Asia, attended by celebrities including Dame Judi Dench. Photo: Philip Durrant

Shoshanna Mitchell, 30, of Warners End, was first inspired to help canine victims of the continent’s cruel food industry when she befriended and later rehomed a dog during a visit to Thailand.

Little Bonbon was a stray who Shoshanna had spotted being treated badly by tourists and locals, and he now lives with her in her Hemel Hempstead home.

But Shoshanna’s interest didn’t stop there – she began researching the treatment of man’s best friend in South East Asia, where she says dogs are treated inhumanely before being brutally killed for their meat, in some cases, on health recommendations.

Shoshanna Mitchell with her dogs Bonbon, left, rescued from Thailand and Ozzie, right, from Italy

She said: “It mortified me looking at my own pet dog and thinking he could have been travelling for days in crushed cages, before being skinned and boiled alive. It ignited something in me and I had to do something.”

The do-gooder then decided she would take a stand and spent months rallying politicians with an interest in the cause to hold a briefing, and determined Shoshanna even managed to rope in star names such as Dame Judi Dench as well as Lesley Nicol and Peter Egan, both from Downtown Abbey, to attend.

The briefing was a great success in raising awareness about Shoshanna’s cause, and the topic is due be discussed again in a back-bench debate in the coming weeks, and she will even be lobbying the British embassy in Hanoi to get involved in discussions on new Vietnamese animal laws.

Shoshanna, who also rescued another pooch, Ozzie, from Italy, said: “It all started with my own dogs, watching a few videos and realising how horrendous it was, so it is unbelievable that Parliament is now standing up and listening and acting on it.

“I can’t believe I created this. The support I’ve had has been amazing – there are people who say things like what about cows and sheep and other animals that are killed for their meat? But I can’t fight every cause – this is the one that I have chosen to fight and it’s my passion.”

Shoshanna has joined more than a million others in signing the Soi Dog Foundation petition against the illegal dog meat trade in Thailand – find out more and sign by clicking here.

She is also taking part in a skydive to raise funds for the charity and has so far raked in £735.