Snow leopard advocate Freeman dead at 75

SEATTLE, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Helen Freeman, the founder of the International Snow Leopard Trust, based in Seattle, has died from lung disease at age 75.

Trust Executive Director Brad Rutherford said Freeman -- who died Sept. 20 -- had been an inspiration for many since she founded the trust in 1981 as a means to protect the world's snow leopards, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer said Wednesday.

"Helen inspired so many people to help her cause that the Snow Leopard Trust continues to grow stronger and accomplish goals Helen envisioned almost 30 years ago," Rutherford said.

In a 1982 interview, Freeman said that by protecting snow leopards from extinction, she was helping preserve diversity in nature.

"I don't think every animal that we look at should be domesticated," she said. "We evolved to share with every other creature on this planet."

Freeman is survived by her husband, Stanley; two sons, Doug and Harry, and five grandchildren.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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