Punxsutawney Phil Sparks Skirmish Between PETA, Groundhog Club

PITTSBURGH, PA — America's most popular prognosticating rodent has triggered sparring between the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

With Groundhog Day occurring next week, the animal activist organization has made its annual suggestion of an alternative to the use of Punxsutawney Phil to predict the weather. This year, the suggested option is persimmon seeds.

Not unexpectedly, the groundhog club has rebuffed that idea.

Legend has it if the furry forecaster sees his shadow, winter continues for six more weeks; if he doesn't, spring arrives early. Phil's forecast usually attracts thousands of people to Gobbler's Knob, located just outside of Punxsutawney about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

If anyone from PETA attends the event, it won't be to cheer on the rodent. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk recently sent a letter to groundhog club president Jeff Lundy once again pleading for Phil's retirement.

"As you know, Phil certainly is not a real meteorologist and didn't volunteer for this job," Newkirk wrote. "For far too long, he's been dragged out of a fake tree stump and subjected to noise, flashing lights and crowds, against all of his natural instincts."

PETA offered to send a persimmon tree to plant in Gobbler's Knob, where an annual ceremony could be held to check the seeds. "They're said to be accurate in predicting the weather 25 percent of the time, not too far off from Phil's average."

PETA also again offered the club a free animatronic groundhog that could predict the weather using artificial intelligence.

Lundy was unimpressed.

"We're kind of disappointed," he said Wednesday on Pittsburgh radio station NewsRadio KDKA 1020's morning show with Larry Richert and Kevin Battle.

"We thought (PETA should) come up with a better idea this year. They come up with one every
year. We're a little disappointed, really. We thought they'd be a little more creative ... I think (Phil's) OK. I think his fans would be a little disappointed (if he was fired)."

Hear Lundy's full interview here.

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