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Keep Punxsutawney Phil In His Hole, PETA Calls for AI Groundhog
Are the days of Punxsutawney Phil predicting when spring will arrive on Groundhog's Day coming to an end? They are if PETA gets their way.
The president of PETA sent a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in Pennsylvania, asking them to keep Punxsutawney Phil in his hole and use a artificial intelligent groundhog instead.
"Being in close proximity to the public causes these animals great stress. When Phil is dragged out of his hole and held up to flashing lights and crowds, he has no idea what's happening. Being relegated to a library "habitat" for the other days of the year doesn't allow him or the other groundhog there to dig, burrow, or forage. It's no kind of life for these animals."
Punxsutawney Phil has been predicting the weather every year on February 2nd since 1886 at Gobbler's Knob. According to legend, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he doesn't, there will be an early spring.
Every other day of the year Phil lives in a man made zoo that is climate controlled and light regulated, according to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
PETA wants the club to break a more than 130 year tradition to make Groundhog Day more appealing to today's generation. "Today's young people are born into a world of terabytes, and to them, watching a nocturnal rodent being pulled from a fake hole isn't even worthy of a text message. Ignoring the nation's fast-changing demographics might well prove the end of Groundhog Day."
Read the full letter at Peta.org.
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