Opinion: Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil's everlasting nightmare

Los Angeles Times

14-02-2025

There is one question that all Americans are asking themselves today: Will winter wonderland continue or will spring come early this year? The answer was revealed this morning, Feb. 2, in a small town in Pennsylvania.
Today marks the 187th annual Groundhog's Day, which is celebrated throughout the United States and Canada. A ceremonial gathering was organized by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, with thousands in attendance and millions watching online. However, many are questioning the ethics of this iconic holiday.
Immortal, beloved groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow at Gobbler's Knob. If he sees his own shadow and returns to his burrow, winter will be prolonged 6 additional weeks. However, on the rare occasion that he does not see his shadow, spring is forecasted to arrive early. At 7:25 am this morning, the celebrity groundhog predicted a lengthy winter when he gazed upon his own shadow.
After the ceremony, Phil is paraded around the town, bombarded by cameras and flashing lights, touched and pet by a crowd of 40,000, and held in captivity for another year until the next Groundhog's Day comes around. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a non-profit organization that works to protect animals rights, is attempting to alter the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's tradition.
Groundhogs are typically antisocial animals who avoid human interaction whenever possible. Every year, however, Phil is subjected to appear on national television and be handled by thousands of humans, for solely amusement and entertainment purposes.
Last year, PETA begged the Groundhog Club to free Punxsutawney Phil, and offered to provide them with a gold coin they could flip during the ceremony as a replacement. This year, however, the organization made a second attempt, and encouraged the Club's Inner Circle leaders to let Phil and his family reside in a sanctuary.
' You batter believe that for Phil, Groundhog Day is no piece of cake ,' wrote PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in a letter to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club president Tom Dunkel. 'Retire Phil to a reputable sanctuary with his family.'
As an alternative to Phil, PETA offered to deliver a vegan 'Weather Reveal' cake every Groundhog's Day to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The Club leaders would slice the cake at the Groundhog's Day ceremony, and the cake's interior would foretell whether or not spring would arrive early. ' If the inside of the cake is blue, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it's pink, there will be an early spring,' Newkirk explained. 'This would allow you to still make tourism dough while showing Phil a slice of decency.'
However, Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, responded to their proposal via Instagram and wrote, 'Come and take it.' Many people are responding similarly. It is unlikely that the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, led by Dunkel, will agree to retire their cherished tradition and use a cake in the years to come.
It seems as though Punxsutawney Phil must accept his fate, and that he will continue to suffer, just to be an annual spectacle and money-maker for the people of Pennsylvania. However, Newkirk said that as people spread awareness about animal cruelty, ' locals and tourists who genuinely respect Phil [will] want him to live his life doing what's natural to him,' and that this cruel tradition might one day be broken. Related