People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is once again trying to ruin everyone’s fun by targeting another American institution: Groundhog Day.
The organization seeks to do away with Pennsylvania’s tradition of using a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil to predict whether there will be more winter on the horizon each year because it is somehow cruel to the animal.
Instead, PETA seeks to replace the famous woodchuck with a vegan option, according to a press release from the organization.
What’s better at predicting the weather than an exhausted, frightened groundhog? Just about everything. So PETA contacted The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s president, Tom Dunkel, with a sweet offer: Retire Punxsutawney Phil and his family to a reputable wildlife sanctuary, and we’ll provide a giant vegan ‘Weather Reveal’ cake every year for revelers at Gobbler’s Knob to enjoy. If the inside of the cake is blue, it would mean six more weeks of winter, whereas pink would signify an early spring.
Bill Murray isn't going to be happy about this.
The organization explains that the “cake’s composition could be based on actual weather forecasts, making for a more exciting revelation” and points out that a meteorologist working with Weather Underground “determined that since 1969, Phil’s accuracy rate has been about 36%.”
Moreover, a “towering confection won’t mind being surrounded by flashing cameras and shouting crowds—unlike shy, skittish groundhogs, who retreat into their burrows to escape danger.”
The group criticizes the tradition because the weather-predicting groundhogs are “held captive in a plexiglass enclosure in a library so that human visitors can gawk at them year-round.”
The group also suggested replacing Phil with an animatronic groundhog.
Groundhog's Day is fast approaching...and PETA is at it again, trying to replace Punxsutawney Phil.
— NewsTalk 98.7 (@987newstalk) January 28, 2025
Hear what their "genius idea" is this year & more, like an animal nearly triggering World War 3, in STUPID NEWS! #PhilShow ⬇⬇⬇https://t.co/xFz7ZSjbWz pic.twitter.com/2kMnh6f6e4
Speaking of cruelty to animals, PETA has been constantly criticized for killing high numbers of nonhumans. A Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) report showed that the organization’s euthanasia rates for dogs and cats are far higher than private shelters in the state. In one year, PETA killed 57 percent of the dogs and 72 percent of the cats that it supposedly “rescued.”
PETA has defended its actions, describing their shelters as a “last resort” where no animal is turned away, including those that are sick, injured, or aggressive. They claim this accounts for their high euthanasia rates.
Yet, other organizations have also lambasted PETA for not doing enough to find homes for the animals they collect. Indeed, the entire organization seems to be operating a thriving animal-killing operation while lecturing the rest of the country about how they should treat animals.
PETA has also come under fire for allegedly stealing people’s pets and killing them. In one instance, the organization was accused of stealing a family’s chihuahua. The group killed the pet shortly after, leading to a lawsuit.
In 2007, a Virginia PETA worker was arrested for stealing a sheriff’s hunting dog. She was charged with a felony count of theft.
To put it simply: PETA claims to love animals, but it seems the organization’s definition of love involves slaughtering cats and dogs, which makes their demands about Punxsutawney Phil even more ridiculous. It appears Phil is far safer in a Pennsylvania library than he would be in PETA’s clutches.
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