PETA Wants Robotic Groundhog, Bill Murray Dies a Little Inside

After lobbying the University of Georgia to replace its lovable bulldog mascot with a robo-dog, PETA has now set its sights on loftier, more high-profile mammals -- namely, one Punxsutawney Phil.

The prognosticating Pennsylvania groundhog, who puts the entire nation on pins and needles in anticipation of his annual unscientific weather forecast, may soon be replaced by a robotic rendition of himself -- if PETA manages to get its way, anyway. In a letter to the organizers of Phil's forecasting event, Gemma Vaughn, who is PETA's "Animals in Entertainment specialist" (and holder of quite possibly the most awesome job title ever), said that all the attention Phil gets every year is simply too stressful for his little groundhog psyche. Other non-psychic, civilian groundhogs, she argues, aren't accustomed to the "large, screaming crowds... flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling." Vaughn implored Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (we swear we're not making these titles up), to "make the compassionate decision to use an animatronic Phil and retire the live groundhogs who are used for Groundhog Day activities to a sanctuary."

Deeley, predictably, thinks that the whole thing is groundhogwash, pointing out that Phil actually leads a pretty cushy lifestyle in a climate-controlled environment, and adding that the rodent is "treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania." That probably says more about the state's own social problems than its animal treatment facilities, but we get the point: Punxsutawney Phil isn't going anywhere. And as much as we'd love to see a robot with Phil's supernatural abilities, we've got to admit that we're glad to hear the Groundhog Day tradition won't be getting James Cameron-ized anytime soon. Besides, PETA has (slightly) smaller, more gruesome "animals in entertainment" to worry about, anyway. [From: The Herald Sun and USAToday]

Tags: animals, funny, groundhogday, peta, PunxsutawneyPhil, robot, top, viral