Time to Cast a New Shadow? Giant Groundhog Hologram on Offer from PETA

For Immediate Release:
January 20, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Tupac, Elvis, and most recently, Suzanne Sommers, but could the next big name to be immortalized with a holographic avatar be…Punxsutawney Phil? In a letter PETA sent today to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s president, Tom Dunkel, PETA offers to provide a massive, state-of-the-art, 3-D projection of a groundhog—complete with vocal weather predictions—to light up the stage at Gobbler’s Knob each year if Dunkel agrees to finally let Phil and his family retire to a reputable sanctuary.

“Pixelated popstars are headlining concerts and long departed celebrities are attending conventions, so why not put that technology to good use: on a hologram that lets the real Phil hibernate in peace,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is urging the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to chuck its tired tradition of harassing a shy animal and give Gobbler’s Knob a glow-up with a phantom prognosticator.”

PETA notes that, when given the chance, naturally shy groundhogs avoid humans and enjoy burrowing, exploring, and hibernating—all of which are impossible in the small enclosure Phil is kept in year-round.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Dunkel follows.

January 20, 2026

Tom Dunkel

President

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club

Dear Mr. Dunkel:

Here we are again! It’s People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 10.4 million members and supporters globally, including many thousands in Pennsylvania—with a new offer to give Groundhog Day a much-needed glow-up: Retire Phil to a reputable sanctuary with his family, and we’ll provide a giant, state-of-the-art, 3-D projection hologram of a groundhog along with a vocal prognostication to light up the Gobbler’s Knob stage. This update would be sure to captivate crowds, and let’s face it: Phil looks better standing tall and composed in light beams than squirming in a handler’s hands in captivity.

As we’ve pointed out before, it’s time to chuck this tired tradition. Groundhogs are timid prey animals who, if they’re able to, actively avoid humans. They dislike human smells, fear loud noises, abhor gatherings, and prefer to stay in their burrows. Yet every year, this terrified little animal is subjected to loud announcers and noisy crowds and held up and waved around without any regard for his feelings, welfare, or instincts. We think Punxsutawney can do better than to brand itself with this one archaic event that exploits a wild animal. It’s unimaginative and ignores the obvious: Phil feels fear and discomfort just as humans do, and he’s not a willing participant in this annual spectacle. And with the hologram, the town could still make a buck out of Chuck.

A giant 3-D hologram would thrill crowds and illuminate the fact that compassion and innovation go hand in hand. Punxsutawney could at last show that genuinely caring for Phil means letting him hibernate, dig, burrow, smell fresh air, and simply live like the wild animal he is in a reputable sanctuary. We look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid Newkirk

Founder