Gov. Josh Shapiro Spars With PETA Over Call To Replace Punxsutawney Phil With Vegan Cake

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is openly tussling with animal rights group PETA, which is calling for Punxsutawney Phil — the famous marmot used in an annual Groundhog Day tradition to forecast the start of spring — to be replaced with a vegan cake.

“Come and take it,” Shapiro wrote Friday on X, formerly Twitter, in reference to the demand.

The popular tradition in Punxsutawney maintains that Phil can predict whether winter will end early or continue for several weeks, depending on whether or not the beloved critter sees his own shadow when exiting his nest at Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania.

PETA head Ingrid Newkirk sent an open letter last month to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club president Tom Dunkel suggesting that this 139-year-old tradition come to an end — and offering to replace it with “a sweet new offer” that doesn’t “exploit” the furry woodchuck.

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“Retire Phil to a reputable sanctuary with his family, and every year we’ll provide a giant vegan ‘Weather Reveal’ cake (it would be first in the world this year) to share with revelers at Gobbler’s Knob,” she wrote in the letter, published Jan. 21 on PETA’s website.

Newkirk added that the new process would be simple: “If the inside of the cake is blue, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it’s pink, there will be an early spring.”

She argued in an accompanying statement that groundhogs aren’t meant for human entertainment.

“When allowed to be themselves, groundhogs avoid humans, create intricate networks of underground burrows, communicate with one another, and even climb trees, but poor Phil is denied all of that for a tired old gimmick.”

Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil as Shapiro looks on in 2023.
Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil as Shapiro looks on in 2023. Barry Reeger/Associated Press

PETA assured Dunkel in the letter that these “Weather Reveal” cakes, in “a fun play on viral gender reveal videos,” would be provided to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club free of charge — but only if Dunkel lets Phil and his offspring live in a protected wildlife reserve.

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PETA cheekily responded to Shapiro’s social media post Saturday, interpreting his words to mean that the animal rights group can “take” Phil to a sanctuary with his blessing. But PETA’s demands were firmly rejected by a member of Shapiro’s administration.

“The governor is dead serious in his defense of this historic Pennsylvania tradition and remains committed to protecting Punxsutawney Phil and the inner circle, and the role they play in the Groundhog Day celebration,” press secretary Manuel Bonder told The Guardian.

Phil is expected to once again grace Punxsutawney with a forecast on Sunday.

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