Simon Festing

Simon Festing is chief executive of the Society for General Microbiology.

Education

Festing graduated in 1987 as a Bachelor of Medicine from the London Hospital Medical College. He worked as a medical doctor for three years before leaving medicine in 1990 to study Environmental Technology at Imperial College, graduating with an MSc in 1991.

Career

Festing did voluntary work for Greenpeace from 1992 to 1994, before joining Friends of the Earth in 1994, where he was employed as their transport and wildlife campaigner until 1998. He worked as a campaign leader for Help the Aged from 1998–1999, then became Director of Public Dialogue for the Association of Medical Research Charities, an umbrella group representing 100 medical-research charities, a post he held from 2000 until 2004, when he joined the Research Defence Society (RDS).^[1] He was chief executive of Understanding Animal Research (formally RDS)^[2] from 2004 until June 2011, when he joined the Society for General Microbiology.

Personal life

Simon Festing is the son of Michael Festing, a member of the UK Animal Procedures Committee, and former trustee of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments. He is married and has two children. His wife is author Ismat (Issy) Festing, who was previously a dentist.

Public profile

In December 2005, Festing appeared on a British reality TV show, The Devil's Challenge,^[3] in which he was subjected to procedures used in animal labs, later engaging in an online debate with John Curtin, an animal-rights activist.^[1]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b http://www.channel4.com/more4/event/K/killorcure/animals_simonfesting.html Archived February 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Goodale, Greg; Black, Jason Edward (2010-). Arguments About Animal Ethics. Lexington Books. p. 144. ISBN 9780739142981. Retrieved 26 August 2012. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ http://www.channel4.com/more4/documentaries/doc-feature.jsp?id=20 Archived February 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ http://www.channel4.com/community/showcards/A/Animals.html Archived June 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[channel4.com-1] ttp://www.channel4.com/more4/event/K/killorcure/animals_simonfesting.html Archived February 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[GoodaleBlack2010-2] Goodale, Greg; Black, Jason Edward (2010-). Arguments About Animal Ethics. Lexington Books. p. 144. ISBN 9780739142981. Retrieved 26 August 2012. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[3] ttp://www.channel4.com/more4/documentaries/doc-feature.jsp?id=20 Archived February 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[4] ttp://www.channel4.com/community/showcards/A/Animals.html Archived June 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

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v t e Animal testing
Main articles	Alternatives to animal testing Animal testing on invertebrates Animal testing on frogs Animal testing on non-human primates Animal testing on rabbits Animal testing on rodents Animal testing regulations History of animal testing History of model organisms IACUC Laboratory animal sources Pain and suffering in laboratory animals Testing cosmetics on animals Three Rs Toxicology testing
Testing on	Frogs Invertebrates Primates Rabbits Rodents Syrian hamsters
Issues	Animal rights Animal welfare Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act Biomedical Research Great ape research ban International primate trade Laboratory animal allergy Pain and suffering in laboratory animals
Controversial experiments	Britches Brown Dog affair Cambridge University primates Monkey Drug Trials Pit of despair Silver Spring monkeys Unnecessary Fuss
Companies	Charles River Laboratories Fortrea Inotiv Jackson Laboratory Nafovanny
Groups and campaigns	Anti-Vivisection Coalition Americans for Medical Progress AAAS AALAS Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society Animal Free Research UK ALF Boyd Group Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing Cruelty Free International PETA ALF Foundation for Biomedical Research National Anti-Vivisection Society New England Anti-Vivisection Society Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Primate Freedom Project Pro-Test SHAC SPEAK Speaking of Research Stop Sequani Animal Testing Research Defence Society Understanding Animal Research
Writers and activists	Colin Blakemore Carl Cohen Gill Langley Ingrid Newkirk Neal D. Barnard Jerry Vlasak Simon Festing Tipu Aziz
Legislation	Animal testing regulations Animal Experimentation Convention 1986 (Council of Europe) Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (UK) Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NZ) Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (US) Directive 2010/63/EU (EU)