Okay - this is an exaggeration. The item is posted on the notorious ‘Biteback’ website, where the animal rights extremists post details of the various unpleasant actions they have taken against those they accuse of abusing animals. In fact that the claim is merely that they ‘rescued approximately 100 tadpoles from a fast drying pool’.

But there is a serious point here. Of the 266 incidents posted since the beginning of this year, only 44 are claimed for actions in the UK. And these have tailed off remarkably in recent months - there were only 12 in the past three months, including saving the traumatised tadpoles.

As reported last weekend in the Guardian, we have seen a sudden decline in the targeting of individual researchers around the country. At the same time, there is a steady rise in the number of institutions and individuals prepared to explain to the public why we need to use animals in research. It is vital that we keep this up. There has never been a safer time to speak out.