Fans all over the world recognize Jon Stewart as being the comedic genius behind Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” serving as the show’s second host for over two decades. However, more recently, Stewart’s also become known as being a passionate advocate for worthy causes, such as the 9/11 first responders. In fact, whenever the 9/11 First Compensation Fund Bill would come up for renewal, Stewart would travel to Washington D.C. with the first responders and even testified with them before congress to pressure lawmakers into approving the funds they needed. But, many folks may not know that both Jon and his wife Tracey are both animal lovers. Tracey actually wrote a book devoted to animals called “Do Onto Animals” that was published in 2015.
The couple’s very first pets happened to be two rescue pigs. And since then, the two animal lovers have added more to their animal family. They adopted two fish, a birth, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, and four rescue dogs. The couple loves their animals like they were their own children. In fact, the couple loves them so much that they even made a massive change to their lifestyle by moving to a place where they would have more room. And eventually, they decided to turn their 12-acre New Jersey farm into a refuge for abused animals. Farm Sanctuary is the name of an organization that advocates for animal welfare by finding and caring for abused animals. The organization previously had only three other sanctuaries in the U.S. before Jon and Tracey volunteered their property to become their fourth.
“We bought a farm in New Jersey with the intention of starting a farm sanctuary of our own with an educational center, but what I’m announcing tonight is that our farm is actually going to be the New Jersey branch of Farm Sanctuary,” Tracey Stewart said. “We’re going to build new advocates, new curious learners, and new leaders for this very important movement.”
“It’s one of those things like where after you give birth you forget about the pain,” she added. “So right now, I’m feeling really good and positive.”
All this happened back in 2015, and it must have served as a welcome way for the comedian to stay busy since he had also retired from The Daily Show that same year. Currently, the farm is called the Hockhockson Farm, and it’s doing quite well. While the Stewart family already had a lot of animals under their care, the farm has since rescued animals such as chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows, as well as other animals. The farm is now filled with formerly abused animals who now have a place where they can heal.
The Farm Sanctuary isn’t currently being opened to the public, and at this time, they are not looking for volunteers. However, you can still look at some adorable photos of all the animals on the farm’s website. Plus, you can learn more about each animal’s background. However, we have to warn you, many of these stories will break your heart if you’re an animal lover!
“As animal lovers, we can always do and be more for those who depend on us. When we make changes in our lives—whether big or small—that move us toward seeking compassion for others, we are moving in the right direction,” Tracey says.
We’ve included a clip from an interview conducted by Gayle King of the CBS This Morning with Jon and his wife Tracey on the farm.
Source: Tip Hero
