Animal rights group: Replace Punxsutawney Phil with robot
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania’s Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it’s unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.
But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is “being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.” The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.
Mr. Deeley says PETA isn’t interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10027/1031375-100.stm?cmpid=MOSTEMAILEDBOX#ixzz0dy2kX0rW
Here’s the issue from PETA on their blog, plus the letter they sent to the Groundhog’s handlers here
Excerpt:
“The popularity of using technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronic animals instead of live animals is rising. Performances such as “Walking With Dinosaurs, the Live Experience”—a theatrical show in which animatronic dinosaurs roar, stomp, and chase each other around an arena—have been taking audiences by storm. Other popular exhibitions have featured robotic penguins and dolphins who swim and communicate just like real animals do, and we think that an animatronic groundhog would similarly mesmerize a crowd full of curious spectators in Punxsutawney.”
==========================
Well, I can see this coming. Punxsutawney has told PETA to bugger off, and now PETA will show up next Tuesday and make some sort of idiotic protest to get news media attention.
In other news, I hear Phil Jones may soon be available. If he saw his shadow it would be six more months of avoiding FOI requests.
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P. Phil’s “predictions” are scripted more than a WWF, err, WWE fight. I predict that Phil will be said to have not seen his shadow in order to give the recession-afflicted populace something to feel good about.
Of course, if the negative AO brings -10F (-23C?) weather, then the backup script may have to be used.
I like to say “If Phil sees his shadow he’s scared back into his den and we’ll have 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring is just around the corner and only a month and a half away.”
Please tell me the peta protesters are going to bring naked women.
Does the groundhog have abortion rights?
Everytime PETA comes up with something like this a reference should be made to this website:
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
Thier record on animal placement versus euthanasia is truely terrible.
@ur momisugly Ric Werme (05:40:03) : “I like to say “If Phil sees his shadow he’s scared back into his den and we’ll have 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring is just around the corner and only a month and a half away.”
That’s what it comes down to, really. There are always 6 more weeks of winter till spring (since the equinox isn’t till March 20 or 21). So, when Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter, he’s always right, but when he predicts an early spring, he’s always wrong. (That’s an 80% accuracy rate according to meteorologists.)
Another thing. They put Phil on stage at 7:25 am, but sunrise this year isn’t until 7:29 am. It might be light enough to see, but not light enough for him to see his shadow, especially if it’s cloudy.
Larry said (23:20:37) :
“Anton –
“I would ask YOU to define ‘mistreated,’ since you are the one who in effect was alleging it. Nevertheless, the poor animal is not being unnecessarily cut up, fed with chemicals, shot, beaten, or otherwise physically abused, starved, or injured. The idea that he is being paraded around, handled, and televised – well, maybe if paparazzi were following him around all of the time like a movie star, that might qualify (lol) – that in my mind doesn’t count as mistreatment.
“And if in fact you DON’T think you are the highest life form in the universe, I feel sorry for you. I would expect you have enough of a human brain to reason these things out properly. Given the fact that we are supposed to be the stewards of this planet to any degree, we’d best think of ourselves as the highest life form. If we don’t, there will be a lot of consequences to pay for it.”
I didn’t say the groundhog was being mistreated; I said I agreed with PETA’s thoughts on the matter. . .mostly I agreed after reading others posts ridiculing PETA and minimizing animals. Somebody else threw in the medical research issue, which was completely irrelevant, so I addressed that too.
Who said we are supposed to be stewards of the planet? If humans said it, it means nothing, since so many take themselves too seriously. So who else? Who? Dare I guess your answer? God? If that’s your answer, then you’ve proved exactly what I was saying.
Dave UK said (03:11:53) :
“Anton: Shut up man, you’re so transparent. Why do you people always have to start screaming ‘Right Wing!’ at anything you disagree with? It’s such a meaningless, stock response. AGW scepticism: Right Wing! Meat eater: Right Wing! Intolerance: Right Wing! Non-belief in animals havin a soul: Right Wing!
Sounds like the only person politicising anything round here is YOU.”
Who are the “you people” you refer to? I happen to live in a country where everything is polarized, and, yes, where those who defend cruelty to animals almost always proudly identify themselves as conservative Christians, and who almost always argue the animals-don’t-have-souls thing since they don’t have any other argument. On the other side we have the pro-abortionists arguing that fetuses don’t have souls, because they can’t defend their position logically either.
I am not a conservative or a liberal; I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I am neither religious nor anti-religious. And I resent being marginalized as an AGW skeptic by other skeptics who happen to think they own the cause, and who have tried to turn it into a partisan clubhouse.
If you are annoyed by my use of the term “right-wing,” how about going through a few hundred of the posts on this site to see how many lambaste the “left-wing,” “liberals,” “socialists,” “communists,” etc. And while you’re at it, look at how many completely irrelevant issues they toss into the mix. Why do they do this? Because these are the POLITICAL issues their partisan interests are obsessed with, and they cannot separate one from the other. They think that if one is an AGW skeptic he automatically must be a conservative Republican Christian opposed to any form of national health care and in favor of offshore drilling. It is THEY’RE assumption–I should say PREsumption–that I am criticizing.
PETA’s groundhog protest may be silly and extreme–PETA does this deliberately for free publicity–but the underlying message is not wrong. Animals shouldn’t be used like machines. They aren’t machines.
If you want an accurate weather forecast, just put Pachauri in a cage, drag him outside, and ask him what’s coming, and then act on the exact opposite. He’s going to be a cage anyhow, so why not make the best of it?
These are the same people that suggested that everyone start calling fish “sea kittens”. These folks must come from another planet.
You never replied to the post about someone having a pet cat Anton. What is your stance on pets?
Ed Fix (03:56:21) :
As a kid growing up in Iowa, I never understood why the Groundhog day question even came up. “Will we have 6 more weeks of winter?” Well–yeah. Feb. is just starting; winter will last 6 more weeks. DUH!!
———-
Groundhog Day is a paganizing perversion of a Christian Feast Day: the celebration of the Presentation of the infant Jesus at the Temple. What we have here is a presentation of the groundhog. That’s why there is no possible scientific rhyme or reason for the choice of date with regards to weather forecasting.
Anton
Here is more cruelty to animals for you to condemn:
US eco-freaks a while ago kidnapped a poor baby whale by taking him from his natural habitat. He was kept in cruel captivity, taught to accept food only when hand-fed dead fish from a bucket, and misused in an agit-prop comedy movie named “Free Willie”
Having served the eco-freaks purpose, they cruelly dropped him back into the Atlantic, without having taught him how to survive in the wild.
The NAO soon carried the poor bewildered animal to the shores of my home country – Norway, a place where we kill wales for fun (I prefer whale meat in my burger, you prefer cow meat in yours – what’s the difference, except for my burger have a smaller carbon footprint?), while also awarding the Nobel peace prize (after having redefined “peace” to serve certain people’s political agenda and the settled fact of man-made catastrophic global warming). But I digress, sorry for that.
By the time Willie arrived here he was starving, and for years he was kept alive by Norwegian schoolchildren handing out fish from a bucket, and a horde of government employees worried about his health, effectively shattering the eco-freak image of Norwegians as whale-killers and making the poor animal another recipient of Scandinavian state welfare.
Later poor Willie died, unable to survive the hash and cold winter climate in the North Atlantic.
Time to grow up Anton?
In other news, I hear Phil Jones may soon be available. If he saw his shadow it would be six more months of avoiding FOI requests.
Even if he didn’t see his shadow, it would still be six more months of avoiding FOI requests. Any less and he might get prosecuted.
Mike Ramsey
Did somebody mention that pets have this big carbon footprint? A dog is like driving a SUV 10000 miles a year. Wild animals will weigh in similarly. How do we best minimize wildlifes carbon footprint while maintaining maximal biodiversity? Advice needed, Peta, WWF, FoE, GreenPeace!
That gives me a new idea for a carbon offseting company. Instead of planting a tree, simply shoot a Rhino. Generate CDM Carbon credits. Carbon Safari.
DirkH (09:07:42) :
That gives me a new idea for a carbon offseting company. Instead of planting a tree, simply shoot a Rhino. Generate CDM Carbon credits. Carbon Safari.
You would need to sequestor the carbon …. I know; taxidermy!
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
Switch off the Hadley supercomputer and hire a small furry animal to tell us the weather. Maybe a hedgehog, as we don’t have groundhogs in the UK. It would save millions of tonnes of carbon emissions.
Groundhog! Groundhog!
Stand, Old Ivy, stand firm and strong.
Grand Old Ivy, hear the cheering throng.
Stand, Old Ivy, and never yield.
Rip, rip, rip the chipmunk off the field.
When you fall on the ball
And you’re down there at the bottom of the heap,
Down at the bottom of the heap!
Where the mud is oh so very, very deep,
Down in the cruddy, muddy, deep!
Don’t forget, boy,
That’s why they call us,
They call us
Groundhog! Groundhog!
Stand, Old Ivy, stand firm and strong.
Grand Old Ivy, hear the cheering throng.
Stand, Old Ivy, and never yield.
Rip, rip, rip the chipmunk off the field.
— From How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
@veronica (09:19:59) : Switch off the Hadley supercomputer and hire a small furry animal to tell us the weather. Maybe a hedgehog, as we don’t have groundhogs in the UK. It would save millions of tonnes of carbon emissions.
I always did like Sonic…
vigilantfish (08:29:08) : Groundhog Day is a paganizing perversion of a Christian Feast Day: the celebration of the Presentation of the infant Jesus at the Temple. What we have here is a presentation of the groundhog. That’s why there is no possible scientific rhyme or reason for the choice of date with regards to weather forecasting.
Er, no. Groundhog Day is a Christian perversion of a ritual that predates Christianity by centuries. You know, just like Halloween is the old All Hallows Eve or Samhain, the night before All Saint’s Day. St. Bridget is Brighid, who was the daughter of the Dagda (the Good God) and is the equivalent of Brigantia (Minerva, Athena). She was also the goddess of wells. Did you know that every time you put a coin into a wishing well you’re honoring a pagan goddess?
Ask me how much I like ground hogs… after they have eaten my entire fenced-in garden, and I mean sheared off every green bean plant to the ground, in mid-season, when it is too late to plant again.
Ask me again, when I find them living in a burrow, INSIDE my fenced in garden.
Ryan C said (08:03:02) :
“You never replied to the post about someone having a pet cat Anton. What is your stance on pets?”
I think they’re great. I have tons of pets. I always have. But, I don’t like wild animals being turned into pets, unless for some reason they cannot survive in the wild. I don’t believe in deliberately breeding ANY animal, wild or otherwise, for pets. There are plenty of animals in need of adoption here already.
Geir said (08:38:40) :
“Anton
“Here is more cruelty to animals for you to condemn. . . .
“Time to grow up Anton?”
Talk about apples and oranges. I don’t support eco-freaks, but apparently you can’t distinguish one subject from another, something else I mentioned in my posts. And I do not believe in capturing wild animals to put them in movies or circuses or television programs or theme parks. Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando imported thousands of animals, but failed to tell the public that for every monkey, bird, etc. that survived the capture and transport, countless others died horribly. WD’s supposed love and compassion for animals is just a PR gimmick to make buckets of money.
I outgrew your myopia when I was fourteen.
“…
Mr. Deeley says PETA isn’t interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.
…”
Telling it like it is. Good for Mr. Deeley!
I knew things were really going downhill when I first noticed animal stores selling rats. As pets, not just snake food. This is true animal cruelty, as it prevents the rats from having a life of freedom in the wild within their natural habitats, namely apartment buildings, restaurants, and alleyways near garbage dumpsters.
Please let me know how many animal-loving never-killing no-meat all-vegan PETA-types happily allow wild rodents in their bedrooms, cockroaches in their kitchens, and termites in the wood framing of their house. BTW, how do you do a perfectly-humane live capture-and-release of termites? How do you return them to their native environment, overnight air shipment to Africa?
@Graeme From Melbourne (20:23:21)
Sorry Graeme. I checked my Cooking Alaska cookbook and no Ground Hog recipes. The closest I have is porcupine, muskrat, and beaver.
/Cooking Alaska has recipes for about everything that swims, crawls, or walks in Alaska. Yes, whale, seal, bear, and lynx are even in the book.
Some years ago, the animal rights mob in the UK ‘liberated’ a lot of mink from a farm. Probably one of them had met a bloke in a pub who knew a guy who had read a political theory book, but they, as usual, knew nothing about mink, especially that they are viscious little buggers who will murder anything they can sink their teeth into.
The result was that for years they devastated the wildlife across much of Eastern England until finally, at great public expense, they were eradicated.
Just another example of when ‘caring’ is worse than useless if you don’t know what you’re talking about.
@ur momisugly George Ellis (12:12:12) :
Isn’t porcupine a bit stringy? That’s why it comes with toothpicks?