Video: ‘Daily Show’ Camel Stunt Goes Awry

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by Michael dEstries February 24, 2011
Categories: Animals, Film/TV.

For their coverage of the massive labor protests in Madison, Wisconsin, Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” thought it would be amusing to inject a bit of camel humor into the proceedings.

As Gawker points out, the joke was probably meant to cast the protests happening there in a dim light compared to the revolutionary versions happening in the Middle East. Unfortunately, one poor camel had to be dragged into the cold for the bit — and as amateur video shot by Madison blogger Jack Craver shows, there was nothing funny about what happened next.

As you’ll see below, the camel gets one of its legs stuck in a metal barrier, struggles to free itself, and then slips on the snow to the ground. In the end, firefighters were called in to assist in the safe removal of the distressed animal. (View the full series of videos here)

As soon as PETA heard of the incident, they immediately sent a letter to producers of the comedy series expressing concern over the decision to involve the animal.

“We have received several complaints—some from people present at the time—about the camel falling on the ice. Viewers are upset that an animal being used for the show was mishandled and appeared to be distressed, and we’ve confirmed that from a YouTube video of the incident sent to us,” PETA Animal Behavior Specialist Julia Gallucci, M.S. wrote. “Camels fare very poorly when used for entertainment.”

As of yet, The Daily Show has not responded to the letter, nor decided to air the footage. Obviously, there’s nothing humorous about watching an animal suffer. Check out one of the clips below.

via Gawker via The Daily Page

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
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