Animal-rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wrote a Jan. 21 letter to organizers of the annual Groundhog Day spectacle in Punxsutawney, PA, demanding that the live groundhog used each year on Feb. 2 be replaced by a robotic version, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The paper showed a letter written by Gemma Vaughan, a PETA "Animals in Entertainment specialist," to Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, in which Vaughan appeals to him to "make the compassionate decision to use an animatronic Phil and retire the live groundhogs who are used for Groundhog Day activities to a sanctuary."
Vaughan goes on to say that the groundhogs "become stressed when they are exposed to large, screaming crowds; flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling."
In response, Deeley told the Associated Press that Phil is kept in a climate-controlled environment, is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture and is "being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania."
That's telling them, Mr. Deeley! And he's right! Phil is the most celebrated groundhog of today and has been for many years. PETA, if you want to do something for your "ethnical treatment of animals" why don't you spend some money on making donations to the SPCA's across America? If PETA people had more than a pea for a brain they would know that the public would not be attracted to this event year after year if groundhogs were being abused! Give normal people some credit. PETA, the people will let you know when animals are being abused. But good luck getting your robotic groundhog.
