Andrew Tyler (8 September 1946 – 28 April 2017) was an English

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

activist and journalist. He was the director of the animal rights organisation

Animal Aid Animal Aid is a British animal rights organisation, founded in 1977 by Jean Pink. The group campaigns peacefully against the consumption of animals as food and against animal cruelty such as their use for medical research—and promotes a cruel ...

, until 2016. As a journalist, he wrote for '' Drapers & Fashion Weekly'', ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', ''Time Out'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''.

Biography

Tyler was born on 8 September 1946, in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen E ...

. He grew up in a Jewish children's home from the ages of six to fourteen, when he left school and worked his way up to being a junior reporter at '' Drapers & Fashion Weekly''. Tyler wrote for ''

'' from 1973 to 1980, interviewing several famous musicians including,

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, Ray Davies, Leonard Cohen and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. In the early 1980s, he was news feature editor for ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

''. He joined Animal Aid in 1995, later becoming director. Tyler married Sara Starkey in 1978, who had a son from a previous marriage. Near the end of his life, Tyler suffered from a degenerative back condition and Parkinson’s disease. He retired in 2016 and finished his memoir ''My Life As an Animal'' (2017). For the final six weeks of his life, he recorded a

video diary A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in ...

, in which he advocated for allowing people to

die with dignity Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept that refers to the end-of-life process avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy. In general, it is usually treated as an extension of t ...

. Tyler ended his life at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, on 28 April 2017.

Selected publications

Articles

"Porton Down"
''Vegan Views'', Autumn 2001.

''The Guardian'', 3 April 2004. * with Peter Webbon
"Should the Grand National be axed for being too cruel?"
''The Guardian'', 4 May 2006.

''The Guardian'', 18 November 2005.

''The Independent'', 17 April 2006.
"Xenotransplantation"
''Genetic Futures News'', undated, retrieved 18 September 2006.

Books

*
Big Pig
' (Animal Aid, 2005) *''My Life As an Animal'' (2017)

Biography

Selected publications

Articles

Books

See also

References

Further reading