Replace Punxsutawney Phil With Robot, Animal Rights Group Says


PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to take real rodents out of the annual Groundhog Day celebration. PETA would like Punxsutawney Phil replaced with a robot-like animatronic groundhog.

The animal activist group sent a letter Tuesday urging the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to retire Phil to a sanctuary and transition to a high-tech groundhog that would be equipped with artificial intelligence.

“We even have the technology to create an animatronic groundhog with artificial intelligence
that could actually predict the weather,” PETA president Ingrid Newkirk stated in the letter. “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.”

Newkirk asserted that failing to replace Phil could bring an end to the longstanding Groundhog Day tradition. A real groundhog has been “forecasting” the last six weeks of winter since 1887.

“Today’s young people are born into a world of terabytes,” she contended. “To them, watching a nocturnal rodent being pulled from a fake hole isn’t even worthy of a text message.”

Newkirk also noted that Phil would be better off being put out to pasture.

“As a prey species, groundhogs actively avoid humans,” she stated. “Being in close proximity to the public causes these animals great stress.”

Groundhog club members could not immediately be reached for comment.





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