Martina Pluda

COUNTRY DIRECTOR, ITALY

A professional animal advocate with a media and legal background, Martina Pluda leads HSI’s efforts in Italy to achieve long-term structural and societal change. She came to HSI after serving as head of programmes at FOUR PAWS in Vienna, where she ran campaigns to improve the legal protection of animals, influence company practices, change public perception and promote cruelty-free options.

Pluda holds a bachelor’s degree in law and economics and a Juris Doctor from the University of Salzburg, as well as a master’s in animal law from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is a doctoral candidate in animal law.

She is the author of Animal Law in the Third Reich and lives in Trieste, Italy, with her dogs, Bubu and Yogi, and her cat, Tati. In her spare time, she promotes plant-based food through cooking classes and culinary events.