PETA is advocating for Punxsutawney Phil to step down from his yearly role of predicting the weather in the United States.
The animal rights organization has written a letter to Tom Dunkel, who is the president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. They have asked the club to substitute the well-known groundhog with a large coin on Groundhog Day, which occurs on February 2nd.
PETA expressed that he does not have the expertise of a meteorologist and should not be continuously taken advantage of for the sake of generating tourism revenue.
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PETA approached the club in 2022 and suggested the idea of using a persimmon tree as an alternative to Phil in predicting the weather.
According to Ingrid Newkirk, the president of PETA, Phil is skilled in digging underground, searching for food, and living according to his natural instincts rather than being knowledgeable in meteorology.
PETA is aiming to assist the groundhog club in starting a more compassionate February 2nd by advocating for Phil and his companion to be relocated to a trustworthy sanctuary. This would allow Phil to live a life free from concerns, without being handled and spun around, and to partake in natural behaviors that are currently prohibited in his Plexiglas enclosure, as stated by Newkirk.
Since 1887, people from both the local community and visitors from various places have been coming to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to witness the emergence of Phil, a small and furry creature, from his temporary dwelling. Depending on whether Phil sees his shadow or not, it predicts either six more weeks of winter or an early arrival of spring.
The film "Groundhog Day," featuring Bill Murray as a frustrated weatherman trapped in a repetitive time cycle, premiered in 1993.
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