Peta have called for Phil, the star of the annual Groundhog Day festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to be replaced by a robot. Phil’s antics inspired the hit 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray (Pictures: AP/Columbia Pictures)

Animal rights group Peta has called for the iconic groundhog who inspired the film Groundhog Day to be replaced by a robot.

The campaign group’s president Ingrid Newkirk wrote the letter days ahead of Punxsutwaney Phil’s annual appearance in his Pennsylvania hometown and said the ‘stressed’ animal should be put out to grass.

Newkirk said: ‘Times change. Traditions evolve. It’s long overdue for Phil to be retired.

‘As a prey species, groundhogs actively avoid humans. Being in close proximity to the public causes these animals great stress.


‘When Phil is dragged out of his hole and held up to flashing lights and crowds, he has no idea what’s happening.

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‘Being relegated to a library “habitat” for the other days of the year doesn’t allow him or the other groundhog there to dig, burrow, or forage.



‘It’s no kind of life for these animals.’

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Newkirk added: ‘Using technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronics instead of live animals is more popular than ever.

‘We even have the technology to create an animatronic groundhog with artificial intelligence (AI) that could actually predict the weather.

‘An AI Phil would renew interest in Punxsutawney, generating a great deal of buzz, much like Sony’s robot dog “aibo,” which walks, plays, misbehaves, and responds to commands.

Phil’s annual appearance see him act as a joke barometer, with Groundhog Day club members pretending that he is able to predict the weather for the next six weeks (Picture: Getty)

‘By creating an AI Phil, you could keep Punxsutawney at the center of Groundhog Day but in a much more progressive way.’

Newkirk told Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Bill Deeley that she’d be happy to recommend a possible sanctuary for Phil.

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Deeley has yet to respond to her request, ahead of Sunday’s festival which sees Phil used as a barometer to jokingly predict the weather.

Each year, Phil emerges from his home on February 2 to look for his shadow, according to festival bosses.

If he sees it and returns to his hole, the town will experience six more weeks of wintry weather, ABC7 reported.

If Phil does not see his shadow, an early spring is forecast, according to tradition.

The bizarre tradition began in 1887, and was used as a plot device for 1993 comedy Groundhog Day.

It sees local TV weatherman Bill Murray doomed to relive the same day over and over again after attending the Punxsutawney festivities.