Obituaries
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2006:
Trina Bellak, 47, died on May 28, 2006, from
complications arising from cancer. “I have been involved with horses
for over 35 years,” Bellak told California radio station KWMR in
July 2005. “My interest was sparked at the age of two when I was
read Black Beauty,” by 19th century horse advocate Anna Sewell,
“and insisted on being read the story weekly for years. At age nine,
I began riding classes, which led to participation in many different
types of competitions and shows. At age twelve, I was horrified to
learn that the federal government was rounding up and killing our
wild horses. With several close friends I held bake sales and used
book sales to raise money to help pass the Wild Free-Roaming Horse
and Burro Protection Act. This experience developed my interest in
horse and animal welfare, and taught me that animals can suffer at
the hands of the government.” Bellak was associate director of
federal affairs for the Humane Society of the U.S. for six years in
the 1990s, then formed the American Horse Defense Fund in 2000. She
counted as her most distinguished achievement winning passage of the
Humane Transport of Horses to Slaughter Act, which took effect in
February 2002. Bellak relocated to Captain Cook, Hawaii, in 2003.