Written by PETA
Last year, PETA issued a Groundhog Day challenge, and students at Pennsylvania's Lafayette College responded to it by inventing a robot that can detect shadows.
We think that using a cyber shadow-detector is a great alternative to yanking a frightened groundhog out of a fake burrow every February and waving him around in front of a boisterous crowd as cameras flash in his eyes. Groundhogs avoid human contact and spend their days digging and burrowing. In February, they should be midway through their winter hibernation, not dodging the paparazzi.
ROBO-GROUNDHOG! THAT IS THE FUTURE!!!! ROBO-GROUNDHOG WILL SURPASS ALL THE OTHER GROUNDHOG'S IN BRUCE WILLIS' NEXT MOVIE!!! ROBO-GROUNDHOG TO THE RESCUE! NO MORE ANIMAL ABUSE!
Free Phil!
Why are the majority of people voting for the live groundhog.
Let little Wiarton Willie go free! Who can forget that his predecessor had a cardiac arrest during the Press Conference - where's the dignity in that?
I know I am real grumpy when you wake me up from my naps. I can only imagine how mad I'd be if I were a hibernating groundhog and someone dragged me out of bed. Totally NOT COOL! Robots are cool, though!
Robo-groundhog? Hmmmm, sounds interesting. I think the real guy is cute but he can't like all those bright lights and stuff. Scary! I'll take the robo-groundhog.
I love Phil, and that's why I think he should be retired to a sanctuary!
By signing up here and giving us your details, you are acknowledging that you've read and you agree to our privacy policy.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
Follow PETA on Twitter!