It takes some ingenuity to arrange a meeting with a busy national Minister. We used a sweet-looking ‘trojan cat’, a soft toy which appeals to our natural desire to play. The cat makes a noise when you squeeze it: but not the sort of cute ‘miaow’ you’d expect. Instead, these are piercing cries which get right under your skin. Then we issued the demand for determined action to be taken against animal experiments. A letter to the relevant Ministers laid down what was expected of them.

Every Minister has a duty to react and respond to written requests, and to take a position on the issue. This duty meant there was no escaping our powerful message. Press reports on this campaign also spread the word. It is hard to measure the results achieved, but the fight to end animal experiments is certainly back on the political agenda.