Nearing the end of his 16-year stint as host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart is — quite literally — moving onto greener pastures.
Farm Sanctuary — a farm animal rescue and protection organization — has recently announced that Jon and his wife Tracey have bought a farm in New Jersey. They have teamed up with the organization to provide a home for farm animals that have been rescued from cruelty.
As an organization devoted to changing people’s views and treatment of farm animals, Farm Sanctuary has three farm locations of its own.
Tracey, an animal advocate and veterinarian, first chanced upon a copy of ‘Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food’ in a rental house that the couple was staying in. She initially reached out to the organization as part of research for her magazine, ‘Moomah’, and book, ‘Do Unto Animals‘.
Her and Jon’s devotion to farm animals only grew from there, and they have since been long-time patrons of Farm Sanctuary. In fact, they purchased Adopt a Farm Animal sponsorships for all their Thanksgiving guests last year.
Most recently, Jon devoted an eight-minute segment on one of his final shows to discuss the New Jersey governor’s refusal to sign a bill that tackled the issue of pigs being confined in crates that were too small. He also had Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, on The Daily Show to discuss his new book, ‘Living The Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer and Feeling Better Every Day’.
“It’s harder to eat meat when you know the animal’s name,” according to Jon.
Part of the proceeds of Tracey’s animal rights book will also be donated to Farm Sanctuary.
The Stewarts live in New Jersey with their two children, four dogs, two pigs, two hamsters, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, one parrot, and two fish.
“All rescues,” Tracey jokes. “Except for the children.”
In honour of the couple’s work over the years, Farm Sanctuary has named two of their rescued sheep ‘Jon’ and ‘Tracey’.
The humans Jon and Tracey will also be honored at a gala later this year in New York City.
“We are ecstatic that there are people in the world like Jon and Tracey who care about the plight of factory farmed animals, and we encourage others to join them in support of Farm Sanctuary’s efforts to rescue, provide shelter and advocacy for these beautiful individuals,” said Meredith Turner, a Farm Sanctuary spokesperson.
Learn more about Farm Sanctuary here.