Research Defence Society

The Research Defence Society is a British lobby group reportedly funded by the pharmaceutical industry and universities. Its main focus is to disseminate information about, and to defend the use of, animal testing in medicine. Its website says that it represents the interests of 5,000 researchers and institutions.

Its current executive director is Dr. Simon Festing.

One campaign to demonstrate the support for animal research within the scientific and medical community, is the co-signing of a petition in support of the use of animals in research called Declaration on Animals in Medical Research. The original declaration occurred in 1990, its second variant in 2005. Over 500 British, and 200 non-British, scientists signed the declaration in the first month, including 3 Nobel laureates, 190 Fellows of the Royal Society and the Medical Royal Colleges and over 250 academic Professors.