Ground Hog Day Is this Sunday and People Eating Tasty Animals are talking crazy again!  This time they want to take away Ground Hog Day!  What's Next, an Animatronic Bill Murray?

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PETA Wants Animatronic Groundhog For Groundhog Day: WAVY says PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has sent a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in Pennsylvania urging them to use an animatronic groundhog instead of a real one.

A portion of the letter reads ....

''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. 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. 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. By creating an AI Phil, you could keep Punxsutawney at the center of Groundhog Day but in a much more progressive way. Talk about taking your town’s annual tradition in a fresh and innovative direction!''

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