In Memory of Howard Lyman

[Animal Rights Zone]

In Memory of Howard Lyman

The animal rights community has lost one of its most distinctive and courageous voices with the passing of Howard Lyman, known to so many as the “Mad Cowboy”, at the age of 88.

Howard's story was an extraordinary one. A fourth-generation Montana cattle rancher, he had spent much of his life immersed in animal agriculture before illness forced him to stop and examine not only his own life, but the effects of the farming practices in which he had participated. He ultimately transformed himself from cattleman into vegan, activist, author and outspoken advocate for other animals.

We were fortunate to welcome Howard as an ARZone Live Chat Guest in 2011. Looking back at that conversation today, what stands out is the certainty with which he spoke about the transformation he had undergone and the responsibility he believed followed from what he had learned.

When asked what had led a fourth-generation cattle rancher to become an advocate for other animals, Howard spoke about looking honestly at what his farming practices were doing to the world around him and realising that he had to change:

“Once I stopped and really did an inventory of what I was doing to the planet, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to change.”

That willingness to change was one of the most remarkable things about Howard. He went on to become a prominent advocate for veganism, challenging not only factory farming but the assumption that using and killing other animals could be justified simply by changing the conditions in which they were raised.

His advocacy reached an enormous audience through his books, public speaking, documentaries and, famously, his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. But perhaps Howard expressed his convictions most simply when he told us:

“I am absolutely committed to the fact that no animal has to die for me to live.”

There is something especially poignant about reading those words today.

Howard knew animal agriculture from the inside. His advocacy was not that of someone standing at a comfortable distance and condemning a world he did not understand. He had participated in that world, confronted the consequences of what he was doing, changed his life and then spent years asking others to reconsider theirs.

People sometimes treat changing one's mind as weakness. Howard's life demonstrated something very different. There can be immense courage in allowing what we learn to change us, particularly when doing so requires us to abandon assumptions and identities that have defined our lives.

We will remember Howard Lyman for that courage, and for his willingness to use his own remarkable transformation to challenge others to think seriously about our obligations to other animals and the planet we share with them.

Most of all, we will remember the simple commitment Howard expressed to us so clearly: no animal has to die for me to live.

Thank you, Howard, for having the courage to change, and for encouraging others to do the same.

Rest in peace, Howard Lyman.