People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to retire Groundhog Day’s “Punxsutawney Phil” and have him replaced with a robot version.
“Ahead of Groundhog Day, PETA sent a letter urging The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to retire Phil and another Punxsutawney groundhog to a reputable sanctuary and start using a cutting-edge animatronic groundhog that could actually predict the weather using artificial intelligence instead,” the group said in a statement.
In the letter, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk wrote: “Using technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronics instead of live animals is more popular than ever. We even have the technology to create an animatronic groundhog with artificial intelligence (AI) that could actually predict the weather.”
She said an AI Phil would generate a “great deal of buzz. Newkirk also noted “It’s long overdue for Phil to be retired.”
“As a prey species, groundhogs actively avoid humans,” she said. “Being in close proximity to the public causes these animals great stress”
But Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney Ground Club Inner Circle, said PETA is welcomed to come and see just how well Phil is treated, according to The Punxsutawney Spirit.
"If they would come here and look, they would see that they have no story," he said. "Phil is observed by the public every day to see and witness how well he's kept."
Sunday is Groundhog Day.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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