The Daily Show With Jon Stewart consistently airs hilarious stories, but the show recently bombed big-time with the public. As part of an ill-conceived skit, the show dragged a live camel onto the slick, snowy streets of Madison, Wisconsin. After the camel got stuck in a fence, an onlooker captured video footage of the camel's handlers jabbing the animal in the neck and yanking her so hard that she fell to the ground. One handler continued to aggressively jerk the camel even though she might have been injured. When the video hit YouTube, PETA instantly wrote a letter asking Jon Stewart and the other producers to stick with what they do best—writing and delivering witty dialogue—and to respect animals enough to leave them out of future skits. At the same time, Daily Show fans hit the show's website hard to complain.

We hope that the show responds positively. One need not be an expert in camel behavior—but simply a decent person—to recognize that this skit was unkind and that the idea should have been scrapped.

Not funny, guys, not funny.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

A camel who was being used in a Christmas pageant at First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Florida, fell into the audience after stumbling when her handler attempted to force her to lie down.

Thankfully, the camel, LulaBell, wasn't hurt (nor were the stunned folks she fell on), but other animals used in passion plays, live Nativity scenes, and holiday photo ops haven't fared so well. Animals have been savagely beaten, hit and killed by cars after bolting, sexually assaulted, suffocated, and stolen and slaughtered.

We understand that LulaBell was rented from a company called Animals in Motion. The company's owner, Tim Rivers, has a history involving illegal animal trafficking, cruelty to animals, and U.S. Department of Agriculture violations.

We've called on First Baptist Church to stop using animals in displays, events, and so on. If a church in your area uses live animals in holiday promotions, please politely urge it to end the practice and to give animals a reason to celebrate too.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor