PETA attacks Groundhog Day Celebrations, wants a robot to be used instead
PETA is calling upon the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to stop using a live groundhog and begin using a robot to predict the weather instead.
In a letter released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal-rights group recommends releasing Punxsutawney Phil to a “reputable sanctuary” and investing in an animatronic rodent that would predict the weather using artificial intelligence.
“Gentle, vulnerable groundhogs are not barometers,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is offering the club a win-win situation: Breathe life into a tired tradition and finally do right by a long-suffering animal.”
In a sarcastic statement on their Facebook page, Groundhog Club co-handler John Griffiths said they actually already have a robot in their midst.
“We found some old bicycle parts, inwards out of an old Pac-Man game, and this is what we came up,” Griffiths said pointing to club president Bill Deeley.
That man in a top hat then began dancing like a robot.
The Groundhog Club, established in 1887, has long supported their town’s quirky tradition that comes around every Feb. 2 when people gather around a stage, sing, dance, drink , while waiting for Phil to pop out of his hole and declare if we’re in for six more weeks of winter or an early spring.
Deeley claimed “PETA wants to piggyback off of his (Phil’s) fame for their own publicity” and added “I think the crowd for this year’s Groundhog Day could be one of the largest ever.”
photo/ Aaron Silvers
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