Jon Stewart Helps Rescue Runaway Bull From Slaughterhouse

Following Jon Stewart‘s exit from The Daily Show, the former host has spent more time lobbying on behalf of 9/11 first responders and tending to his animal sanctuary than lending his take on the 2016 presidential race. Stewart and wife Tracey’s animal advocacy efforts were back in the news Friday after the couple helped rescue a runaway bull that escaped a slaughterhouse in Jamaica, New York, the New York Times reports.

The black and white Angus bull escaped its livestock holding area at the Archer Halal Live Poultry Friday and descended onto the nearby York College campus, where it quickly became a hit on social media. After 30 minutes of freedom, police managed to corral the bull.

Following its capture, the bull was taken to the Animal Care Centers of NYC in Brooklyn, where staff members began collecting money with the purpose of purchasing the animal from the cattle rancher who planned on slaughtering it. However, the bull – now nicknamed Frank Lee, a nod to Alcatraz escapee Frank Lee Morris – was spared for no charge, and by Friday afternoon, the Stewarts arrived to transport him to the Farm Sanctuary’s shelter in Watkins Glen, New York.

The Stewarts, who operate the 12-acre Bufflehead Farm in Middletown, New Jersey, spoke about their animal sanctuary in October. “Our hope is to get a lot of school groups in,” Tracey Stewart said. “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.”