It ’s Groundhog Day today and in the town of Punxsutawney , Pennsylvania , a woodchuck named Phil is about to give his annual weather forecast . That ’s probably not the most bizarre thing you ’ve ever read about on IFLScience , but it ’s also an event that does n’t go down well with animal right organization PETA , which has once again promise for the tradition to terminate .

“ Beyond a shadow of a doubt , a groundhog ’s weather prediction is no more exact than flip a coin … [ Punxsutawney Phil ] is not a meteorologist and deserves well than to be exploited every year for touristry money , ” said the organisation in astatement .

If you were n’t antecedently cognizant of the Punxsutawney Phil lore , let us fill you in . Since 1886 , everyFebruary 2ndsees the Inner Circle of Punxsutawney ’s Groundhog Club hold a ceremony at Gobbler ’s Knob ( stop it ) , home to Phil the groundhog .

If Phil comes out of the burrow and go out his shadow , that allegedly means there ’ll be six more weeks of wintertime . If he does n’t , then supposedly there ’ll be an early spring . It ’s claimed that Phil communicates all this with the president of the Inner Circle , who can apparently speak “ Groundhogese ” .

It ’s not just PETA that ’s called out Punxsutawney Phil ’s suspected want of meteorology qualifications . consort to areportby the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’s National Centers for Environmental Information , the famed groundhog ’s predictions over the last 10 long time have only been 30 per centum accurate .

But it ’s not just about whether or not thepredictionsare right . For several year now , PETA have campaigned for Phil to be freed from his duties , state that the custom amounts to animate being harshness .

“ For more than a century , The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has overwork a woodchuck on February 2 – when they ’d naturally be in hibernation – and pretended that they ’re giving a weather forecast , " say PETA . " Phil is an individual who , although intelligent and ego - aware , ca n’t predict the weather . Even if he could , keep him or any other animal imprisoned for a cruel annual whatsis is abusive . ”

alternatively , PETA has indicate a number of option for predicting the weather . These have ranged from replacing Phil with a coin flip to offering up ahuman volunteerto live in captivity . Back in2020 , it also put forward the musical theme of an animatronic groundhog that could more accurately predict the weather using artificial word .

That would certainly make for an interesting development in the robot rising .