I loved this all the way through — almost to the point where tears started to cloud my vision — until the very end where they cut back to the CBS morning show, and wow! The stiffness and masked quality of the newscasters was jarring to behold! I think they knew it too; indeed, did I detect a wistful quality beneath the makeup on their shocked faces? I wonder if they even wanted to trade places with Tracey Stewart, down in the dirt with the pigs and cows, feces flying.
The contrast between nature and artifice has never felt more poignant.
A sneak peek at Jon Stewart’s animal rescue farm
October 25, 2015
by Michael d’Estries
Post ‘Daily Show,’ the comedian and his wife are dedicated to helping animals.
Bufflehead Farm, the new non-profit animal rescue sanctuary owned by Jon and Tracey Stewart, is almost ready to open its doors.
PHOTO BREAK: 11 amazing hybrid animals
If everything goes according to plan over the next few months, the family’s 12-acre tract of land in Middletown, New Jersey, will soon be home to dozens of rescue cows, sheep, turkeys, goats and other animals.
Bufflehead Farm is Tracey Stewart’s lifelong dream come true. (Photo: CBS Morning)
The project has long been a dream for Tracey Stewart, an animal advocate and former veterinary technician, who has tirelessly worked to promote a plant-based lifestyle, animal welfare issues, and support for organizations like Farm Sanctuary.
Her new book “Do Unto Animals” (currently the No. 1 bestseller in animal husbandry on Amazon) offers more than 300 pages of beautiful illustrations and promises to give readers “insights into the secret lives of animals and the kindest ways to live with and alongside them.”
Jon and Tracey Stewart on their Bufflehead Farm in New Jersey. (Photo: CBS Morning)
In an interview with the New York Times earlier this month, Mrs. Stewart said the goal of the book is to make people look at 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,” she said. “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.”
One of the initial four pigs the Stewarts rescued only a few months after moving to their new farm in New Jersey. (Photo: CBS Morning)
The Stewarts have worked to slowly and meticulously transform Bufflehead Farm, purchased in 2013, into a safe place for rescue animals. They currently have four pigs, including two piglets rescued from the side of road in Georgia last summer.According to the New York Times, four sheep will also soon arrive — as well as many other abused or neglected farm animals in need of a home.
The couple eventually plan on opening Bufflehead Farm to the public, but by appointment only to start. For Mrs. Stewart, educating about what they’re trying to do at the sanctuary will be a big part of that outreach. “Our hope is to get a lot of school groups in,” she added.
“CBS This Morning” recently visited the Stewarts on their farm to check in with the famous comedian post-“The Daily Show,” see the work-in-progress that is Bufflehead, and talk with Tracey about her new book. Check it out below.
