PETA wants Punxsutawney Phil replaced with an animatronic robotic groundhog, according to a letter sent to the Groundhog Club in Pennsylvania.
The press release comes days before Groundhog Day will be celebrated by tens of thousands cheering fans at Gobbler’s Knob, a small western PA town. The movie, Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, made this event a global sensation.
In 2010 PETA sent a similar letter to the Groundhog Club in an attempt to end the use of a live groundhog for their festivities.
In their recent letter (see below), PETA said using an animatronic device with AI instead of live animals is more popular than ever and could actually predict the weather. Punxsutawney Phil the prognosticator has been only been right 39% of the time! Who actually goes there to find out if there are six more weeks of winter?
Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA, also said that an AI Phil would renew interest in Punxsutawney. Fact: Gobbler’s Knob is always packed with people from many states each year. It is televised on PCN showing the festivities held overnight until Phil is presented to the crowd to predict the weather.
Bill Deeley, the President of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club said “……. I would invite them to come to Punxsutawney and see how Phil is treated. As I’ve said in the past, Phil lives better than the average child in Western Pennsylvania.”
Deeley told the Punxsutawney Spirit “Phil sleeps in a warm environment in the winter, and in the summertime, he lives in an air-conditioned environment. Deeley also said that Phil is required by law by the United States Department of Agriculture to get a physical and that the average person who lives in the United States is not required to go to the doctor every year.”
Phil travels to Western New York, Western Pennsylvania and other areas for special events and parades. Deeley said “I think the crowd for this year’s Groundhog Day could be one of the largest ever.” He continues, “PETA has never come to Punxsutawney to observe just exactly how Punxsutawney Phil lives.” “If they would come here and look, they would see that they have no story,” he added.
Deeley said the Groundhog Club has no plans to get rid of Phil. He went on to say the crowds of 40,000 people don’t want to see an AI groundhog. He feels PETA is doing this for publicity.
Groundhog Day is celebrated in other areas of Pennsylvania and around the country with Phil being the most popular and well known groundhog.
If you do want to enjoy the day with the One True Groundhog go to Quarryville, Lancaster County, PA. Their annual tradition held by the Hibernating Governors of the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge predicts the weather with Octoraro Orphie touted as The One True Groundhog.
Rick Rankin, the lead “Governor,” was recently on my television show and said Orphie is a stuffed groundhog that has predicted the weather with 100% accuracy. Rankin said they hold festivities which include a parade, singing, dancing, dunking of new members in a nearby creek and competitions that are fun for the entire family.
In 2014 during a Groundhog Day celebration in New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped Staten Island Chuck which caused the animal to die.
(PETA’s letter to the Groundhog Club)
January 28, 2020
Bill Deeley, President The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
Dear Mr. Deeley,
Times change. Traditions evolve. It’s long overdue for Phil to be retired.
As a prey species, groundhogs actively avoid humans. Being in close proximity to the public causes these animals great stress. When Phil is dragged out of his hole and held up to flashing lights and crowds, he has no idea what’s happening. Being relegated to a library “habitat” for the other days of the year doesn’t allow him or the other groundhog there to dig, burrow, or forage. It’s no kind of life for these animals.
Using technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronics instead of live animals is more popular than ever. We even have the technology to create an animatronic groundhog with artificial intelligence (AI) that could actually predict the weather. An AI Phil would renew interest in Punxsutawney, generating a great deal of buzz, much like Sony’s robot dog “aibo,” which walks, plays, misbehaves, and responds to commands. By creating an AI Phil, you could keep Punxsutawney at the center of Groundhog Day but in a much more progressive way. Talk about taking your town’s annual tradition in a fresh and innovative direction!
Today’s young people are born into a world of terabytes, and to them, watching a nocturnal rodent being pulled from a fake hole isn’t even worthy of a text message. This is a generation whose members book rides on their smart phones and will never walk into a bank to deposit a check. Ignoring the nation’s fast-changing demographics might well prove the end of Groundhog Day.
We’d be happy to make recommendations for a sanctuary that would welcome Phil and the other Punxsutawney groundhog. Instead of working at cross-purposes, let’s collaborate to create a sunny future. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours truly,
Ingrid Newkirk, President PETA
Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer, and an unabashed animal advocate. Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals. She hosts the television show, “A Close Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.” She adores her tripawd, Brody, who was a formerly abused pup who lost his leg because of cruelty inflicted upon him. If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com. Like https:www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookatAnimalWelfareIssues and be sure to check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com.
Leave Phil alone! Geez I’m getting sick of these groups demanding people to bow to their whining and complaining. Phil is taken care of quite well. Go away Peta. Look at yourselves before telling others what to do. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Phil says early spring!
Is there anything PETA likes about animals? They don’t want you to have pets. Don’t you see it? That’s what they’re gunning for. Same goes for the HSUS. In fact, I heard the new CEO of the HSUS used to work for PETA. They want to tell you what you can do with your own pets. Before you give money to these businesses, make sure you know what they stand for.
Have you ever seen this up close? OMG- hysterically funny. Phil is treated extremely well. I wish PETA would get a clue before spouting false claims. Robot groundhog. Get our of here.
YAY, an early spring. Can’t wait. I want warm weather. I know Phil won’t let us down. 😉