PETA Suggests Canceling Groundhog Day

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recommended ending the longtime tradition of Groundhog Day, calling the event abusive to the groundhog in question. The suggestion comes as the group received significant criticism for attempting to cancel the February event.

The group argued that the ceremony should be replaced with flipping a “giant coin.” The longtime tradition is that if the groundhog is in a small Pennsylvania town. The group wrote that the groundhog is “not a meteorologist and deserves better than to be exploited every year for tourism money.”

“Should kindness prevail, the huge coin could easily replace him as the Pennsylvania town’s gimmick to draw in tourists,” a PETA letter wrote.

PETA wrote that the species of Punxsutawney Phil is “shy” and solitary and does not “want to live in confinement in a local library.”

This is not the first time that PETA suggested ending the practice, but it appears to be gaining attention this year.

Groundhog Day has been a tradition for hundreds of years and is now the center of the celebration in Pennsylvania. It has been tied to Punxsutawney specifically since the late 19th century. After being popularized in a local newspaper, locals began to seek out whether the groundhog saw his shadow each year, which then gained a national following.

The event is attended by thousands of people and gained special notoriety after the 1993 hit film of the same name. The ceremony can also be seen on an internet livestream next week.

The only major exception to gathering a crowd for the event was the COVID pandemic.

Last year the groundhog saw his shadow, leading to the apparently correct prediction of six more weeks of winter.

Other communities carry out similar ceremonies, with perhaps the most famous performance being in New York City. This has taken on a more bizarre turn of events. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) was bitten by a woodchuck performing the ceremony in 2009.

Former Mayor Bill DeBlasio (D) dropped a woodchuck during the 2014 event. The woodchuck died not long after.

Let’s be very clear here — DeBlasio smiled as he watched the groundhog plummet to its death. https://t.co/OSl3mJMBiD pic.twitter.com/1cINfZ80DI

— Jerry Dunleavy 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) June 14, 2023