STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It appears no one’s job is safe from the rise of the robot workforce, not even the nation’s most beloved groundhog.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an international organization dedicated to protecting animal rights, has written a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club requesting the retirement of Punxsutawney Phil — just in time for Groundhog Day on Sunday.
PETA claims that the annual Groundhog Day ceremony, which draws thousands of visitors to Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania to watch Punxsutawney Phil search for his shadow, places an undue burden on the furry prognosticator.
“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,” wrote PETA President Ingrid Newkirk.
Additionally, the organization claims that Phil’s living arrangements are not up to snuff.
When he’s not predicting the weather, Phil lives in a man-made, climate-controlled, light-regulated zoo connected with Barclay Square, the town park and the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, according to the club’s website.
“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,” Newkirk wrote.
But not to worry, PETA has a solution in mind to satisfy all parties.
The organization has suggested that the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club replaces Phil with an animatronic groundhog with an artificial intelligence (AI) system that would allow it to accurately predict the coming weather.
“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!”
PETA argues that the switch to Robo-Phil could help restore some interest in Groundhog Day among the younger generations.
“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… Ignoring the nation’s fast-changing demographics might well prove the end of Groundhog Day.”
AND WHAT ABOUT CHUCK?
So far, the borough’s weather-predicting groundhog — Staten Island Chuck — still has his job security.
This year’s Groundhog Day celebration at the Staten Island Zoo, West Brighton, will begin at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Charles G. Hogg, also known as Staten Island Chuck, is scheduled to make his prediction at 7:30 a.m.
Admission to the ceremony is free.
Those unable to attend the ceremony at the Staten Island Zoo can watch Chuck make his prediction on Silive.com.