Animal-rights activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for groundhog Punxsutawney Phil to be replaced with a robot, which would end a 134-year-old tradition.
The group wrote a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club on Tuesday, which reads: “Times change. Traditions evolve. It’s long overdue for Phil to be retired.”
PETA argues that close proximity to human beings causes groundhogs “great stress.” They say Phil’s “library ‘habitat'” prevents the creature from digging, burrowing, and living as he normally would. “It’s no kind of life for these animals.”
In past years, the tradition has not ended well for some groundhogs. In 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio inadvertently killed a groundhog at the Staten Island Zoo after dropping it. The creature fell six feet and died from internal injuries.
The tradition nevertheless usually goes well in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, drawing crowds of thousands.
According to legend, if the furry rodent sees his shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not, then spring arrives early.
Groundhog Club President Bill Deeley said he opposed PETA’s proposal in an interview. “Imagine if he was an animated little creature outside where you put in a dollar, and he waves at you,” Deeley said. “That’s not what people want to see, and that’s not what our community wants, either.”
“Tradition is no excuse for cruelty,” PETA spokeswoman Brooke Rossi told the Washington Examiner. “Replacing Punxsutawney Phil with an animatronic groundhog would allow this tradition to continue and would give the Punxsutawney groundhogs an opportunity to burrow, hibernate, and live as they would in nature at a reputable sanctuary.”