PETA, the advocacy group for ethical animal treatment, has proposed an innovative alternative to the traditional Groundhog Day festivities. In a letter addressed to Tom Dunkel, President of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, PETA suggested replacing the live groundhog, Phil, with a “state-of-the-art” 3D projection at Gobbler’s Knob. The organization recommended that Phil and his family be allowed to retire to a sanctuary.
The proposed 3D projection would not only entertain but also provide local weather forecasts, according to PETA’s plans.
“With pixelated pop stars headlining concerts and holograms of long-gone celebrities appearing at events, it’s time to harness this technology for a good cause,” stated Ingrid Newkirk, PETA’s founder. “A hologram could allow the real Phil to enjoy hibernation, undisturbed.”
Newkirk urged the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to abandon their outdated tradition of using a live animal and instead modernize Gobbler’s Knob with a high-tech predictor.
PETA also shared a conceptual image depicting what a holographic Punxsutawney Phil might look like.
Highlighting the natural behaviors of groundhogs, PETA pointed out that these animals prefer to avoid human interaction and would rather engage in activities like burrowing and exploring, especially during hibernation.
They said these simple pleasures are made “impossible” for Phil to appreciate, given the small enclosure he is kept in year-round.
Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is held up after being pulled out of his burrow on Groundhog Day Feb. 2, 2025. (PCNTV)
“This update would be sure to captivate crowds, and let’s face it: Phil looks better standing tall and composed in light beams than squirming in a handler’s hands in captivity,” Newkirk wrote in the letter. “They dislike human smells, fear loud noises, abhor gatherings and prefer to stay in their burrows. Yet every year, this terrified little animal is subjected to loud announcers and noisy crowds and held up and waved around without any regard for his feelings, welfare, or instincts.”
She went on to call the annual event “archaic,” claiming it “exploits a wild animal.”
Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerges on Groundhog Day Feb. 2, 2025. (PCNTV)
“It’s unimaginative and ignores the obvious: Phil feels fear and discomfort just as humans do, and he’s not a willing participant in this annual spectacle,” Newkirk wrote. “And with the hologram, the town could still make a buck out of Chuck.”
PETA, whose motto is, in part, “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” is offering free “Empathy Kits” for those who “need a lesson in kindness,” according to organizers.
