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Jon Stewart To Open Sanctuary For Mistreated Animals In New Jersey

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 18:28 PST, Oct 26, 2015

Jon Stewart is starting a new career after his 14-year stint as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, this time as an animal farm caretaker, the Associated Press reports.

Jon and his wife Tracey Stewart announced Saturday that they’re opening a sanctuary for mistreated animals in New Jersey.

Jon made the announcement at a Saturday gala for Farm Sanctuary, an organization that provides shelters for abused animals rescued from factory farms, while he and his wife were being honored for their vast animal welfare efforts. On top of Jon Stewart’s farm in Middletown, New Jersey, Farm Sanctuary has three other sanctuaries in Los Angeles, Orlando, and Watkins Glen respectively.

Stewart made his announcement in typical Jon Stewart fashion.

I’m a little uncomfortable. I’ve spent the last 20 years immersed in the world of Washington politics and the media landscape, so I don’t know how to deal necessarily with people who have empathy.

As host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Jon Stewart had often been vocal about animal welfare issues. In a recent piece by The New York Times, his wife Tracey Stewart made it known to the whole world that Jon Stewart is a vegetarian.

“He’s a little afraid to say it out loud,” Stewart told the Times. “He thinks he’s going to be caught somewhere eating meat.”

“This was my dream man. But I also knew that because he loved animals, if those animals didn’t like me, that might really count against me. I was like: ‘They’re going to love me. I don’t care if I have hives.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eND7mXRVCbk

Tracey Stewart is a long-time animal welfare advocate who authored Do Unto Animals, a book that provides a friendly guide on how animals live and how we can improve their lives. The book has more than 300 pages of beautiful illustrations that aim to give readers “insights into the secret lives of animals and the kindest ways to live with and alongside them.”

In the New York Times interview, Tracey Stewart said that one of her goals in writing the book is to make people see animals “more as individuals and less as simply food.”

If everyone did a bit more, if they fell in love a little bit more, so much could happen. It doesn’t have to be going vegan. You can advocate for them. You can show tenderness. You can play music for them. I really hope people can connect with animals the way most of us did as children.

She and Jon Stewart were recently featured on the CBS This Morning Show to promote Do Unto Animals and their advocacy for animal rights. In the video, Gayle King visited the Stewarts at their farm for their interview.

According to Rolling Stone, Jon and Tracey’s 12-acre Bufflehead Farm currently houses four pigs, with a shipment of four sheep and many other animals in need of a home on the way.

Jon and Tracey Stewart purchased Bufflehead Farm in 2013, and since then have worked diligently to make it a safe haven for rescued animals. The Stewarts said that they are planning on opening the farm to the public someday as part of their effort to spread awareness about animal welfare. “Our hope is to get a lot of school groups in,” Mrs Stewart added. At this point in time, Bufflehead Farm is available via reservation only.

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]

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