PETA Wants To Replace Punxsutawney Phil With A Giant Coin

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to eliminate the groundhog from Groundhog Day celebrations in Pennsylvania. The group sent a letter to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's president, Tom Dunkel, asking him to replace the iconic Punxsutawney Phil, who will decide if we will have six more weeks of winter or an early spring, with a giant coin.

"Groundhogs can't make heads or tails of the weather forecast and shouldn't be jostled around by large members of a different species and thrust in front of noisy crowds for a photo op," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. "PETA is urging The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to send Phil to a reputable sanctuary that will give him the care he needs and not to treat him as a wildlife prop."

As of now, the Groundhog Day celebration is still scheduled for 7:20 a.m. on February 2 at Gobblers Knob, when Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his burrow. If he sees his shadow and runs back into the burrow, we can expect six additional weeks of winter. However, if he doesn't see his shadow, we can expect an early spring.

While PETA suggested that Phil's weather-predicting accuracy is equal to a coin flip, his actual record is much worse. Since the 1880s, Phil has predicted 107 extended winters and 20 early springs with an accuracy of just 39%.