About Kitty Block
Credit: Jean Chung/For HSI
Kitty Block is the chief executive officer and president of the Humane Society of the United States, as well as chief executive officer of Humane Society International and Humane Society Legislative Fund.
Block, an attorney, has devoted more than a quarter century to protecting animals. She joined the HSUS in 1992 as a legal investigator and was instrumental in bringing cruelties such as horse slaughter and the killing of dogs and cats for their fur in China to light. Her efforts led to major policy reforms, including European Union and U.S. bans on imports of dog and cat fur, and bans on slaughtering horses for human consumption.
The protection of whales, dolphins, and other wildlife has also been a priority for Block. She has represented the HSUS and its affiliates in numerous meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the International Whaling Commission, and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Block led the HSUS’s efforts to secure protections for dolphins with successful litigation and landmark dolphin-safe tuna legislation. In addition, she was one of the architects of a successful lawsuit over commercial whaling brought against Japan by Australia in the International Court of Justice.
Block has testified before the U.S. Congress, worked with international governments and agencies to draft and enforce conservation and animal protection laws, and built coalitions with nongovernmental organizations and industry. She has served as an advisor to the White House on Trade and the Environment and has served multiple elected terms on the International Dolphin Conservation Agreement International Review Panel, which works with governments on monitoring violations of the agreement. In 2023, Forbes named Block to its 50 Over 50 list of women who are changing the world.
As CEO of Humane Society International, Block oversees all international campaigns and programs for the organization.
Block received a law degree from The George Washington University in 1990 and a bachelor’s degree in communications and philosophy from the University of New Hampshire in 1986.
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