In a letter pleading the case, they write:
"I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more
than 2 million members and supporters worldwide. We would like to present you with an
exciting, innovative proposal—one that would benefit both Punxsutawney and Punxsutawney
Phil. Please review the following information and then make the compassionate decision to use an animatronic Phil and retire the live groundhogs who are used for Groundhog Day activities to a sanctuary."
"I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more
than 2 million members and supporters worldwide. We would like to present you with an
exciting, innovative proposal—one that would benefit both Punxsutawney and Punxsutawney
Phil. Please review the following information and then make the compassionate decision to use an animatronic Phil and retire the live groundhogs who are used for Groundhog Day activities to a sanctuary."
I have a better idea. Why not retire Phil and replace him with Jalapeno Joe, who would be glad to understudy him for a couple of bags of jalapeno chips. Here's an audition photo of the prospective candidate: As you can see, he's a fine specimen
My guess is that the PETA has the Zhu-zhu Hamster pets in mind. The reasoning goes thusly- if we can have robotic hamsters, why not replace the February 2nd show of Punxsutawney Phil with the Philimpersonator.
Although, given the current technologies, something like this CMU version might scare away the hordes of cheering tourists, unless they manage to fit it with a souped up Zhu-zhu pet skin of sorts.
