PETA Suggests Replacing Groundhog Day with a ‘Vegan Weather Reveal Cake’
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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling for an end to the longstanding Groundhog Day tradition of using a live groundhog to predict the weather, proposing a “kinder” alternative. The animal rights organization suggests replacing Punxsutawney Phil with a vegan “Weather Reveal Cake.”
In a press release last week, PETA offered to provide the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club with a vegan cake every year “in perpetuity” if the organization agrees to retire Phil and his family to a wildlife sanctuary. PETA said that this decision would “earn the outfit kudos from wildlife fans.”
PETA also published a letter to the Groundhog Club, arguing that the event is cruel to the groundhogs involved. The letter described groundhogs as “shy prey animals” who naturally avoid humans.
“Yet, year after year, Phil is transported to Gobler’s Knob, whisked on stage, and subjected to a noisy announcer, screaming crowds, and flashing lights against all his natural instincts,” the letter said. “If approached in his natural habitat, he would run away in fear, not volunteer to live year-round in captivity, unable to do anything that’s natural and important to him like hibernate or burrow – just to be a town’s once-a-year fake meteorologist.”’
PETA President Ingrid Newkirk further claimed that Phil is “denied” the ability to live as a typical groundhog. “When allowed to be themselves, groundhogs avoid humans, create intricate networks of underground burrows, communicate with one another, and even climb trees, but poor Phil is denied all of that for a tired old gimmick,” Newkirk argued.
PETA told Fox News that the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has not yet responded to the proposal, though the group is urging the club to adopt “kinder, innovative” traditions.
This is not the first time PETA has challenged Groundhog Day practices. Last year, the organization suggested using a gold coin instead of a live groundhog. Groundhog Day is a tradition dating back to 1887 and continues to attract thousands of attendees each February 2 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Phil is said to “predict” the coming weather.