PETA wants Punxsutawney Phil to be replaced by a hologram
The animal rights organization wants Punxsutawney Phil and his family to retire to a “reputable sanctuary.” Getty Images
PETA is once again calling for Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous groundhog, to be replaced—this time with a high-tech, “state-of-the-art” hologram.
In a letter sent to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel, the animal rights organization urged organizers to retire Phil and his family from the annual Feb. 2 Groundhog Day ceremony and move them to a “reputable sanctuary.” In their place, PETA proposed using a three-dimensional hologram capable of delivering “vocal weather predictions.”
“Pixelated pop stars are headlining concerts and long-departed celebrities are appearing at conventions,” PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. “So why not put that technology to good use with a hologram that allows the real Phil to hibernate in peace?”
Newkirk criticized the tradition as stressful for the animal, saying PETA wants the Groundhog Club to abandon what it calls the “harassment of a shy animal” and modernize Gobbler’s Knob with a digital weather forecaster.
PETA has made similar appeals for years, previously suggesting Phil be replaced with inanimate alternatives such as a vegan “weather reveal cake” or even a giant gold coin.
The organization argues that groundhogs are naturally reclusive animals that prefer burrowing, roaming, and hibernating—behaviors it says are not possible in the enclosure where Phil is housed year-round. Under PETA’s proposal, a hologram of Phil would appear in blue with snowflakes to signal “six more weeks of winter,” or glow pink with flowers to predict an early spring.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club did not immediately respond to a request for comment on PETA’s latest suggestion.
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