EXCLUSIVE: 'Groundhogs aren't meteorologists' - Amid massive Groundhog Day fanfare, PETA warns that handling the 'shy animals' in front of large, screaming crowds and flashing lights is harmful

  • On Thursday, Punxsutawney Phil took the stage in Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania and prophesied six more weeks of winter 
  • Several other states hosted their own Groundhog Day celebrations as well
  • The time-honored tradition, however, could actually be harmful for Phil and his friends, animal rights group PETA said 
  • 'They're shy animals who would never choose to be exposed to flashing camera lights, human handling, and large, screaming crowds,' the organization said
  • PETA urged planners to embrace animatronics in future years so real groundhogs - and their handlers - would not be harmed 

By Amanda Ulrich For Dailymail.com

Published: 09:42 EST, 3 February 2017 | Updated: 10:14 EST, 3 February 2017

For over a century, Groundhog Day has been a staple of the otherwise dreary month of February, beginning as an innovative way to forecast the weather to eventually becoming a full-fledged, week-long affair fit for a true celebrity.

Except in this case the celebrity, otherwise known as 'Seer of Seers', 'Sage of Sages' and 'Weather Prophet Extraordinary', is a groundhog named Phil.

On Thursday, Punxsutawney Phil took the stage in Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania and prophesied six more weeks of winter.

Thousands of audience members holding signs and wearing groundhog hats, who had traveled from neighboring states to take in the show, chanted 'Phil! Phil! Phil! Phil!' 

The time-honored tradition, however, could actually be harmful for Phil, animal rights group PETA told DailyMail.com

On Thursday, Punxsutawney Phil took the stage in Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania and prophesied another six weeks of winter

Over the past few decades, Groundhog Day has become a full-fledged, week-long affair fit for a true celebrity - with the celebrity in this case being Phil the groundhog

The time-honored tradition, however, could actually be harmful for Phil, animal rights group PETA said, adding that groundhogs are 'shy animals' who would never 'choose to be exposed' to flashing lights and huge crowds

At left, a sleepy Punxsutawney Phil is held up at daybreak in 1980. The celebration has noticeably changed after groundhogs bit several public officials and were dropped during the ceremony in recent years. Phil is now kept behind a Plexiglas case

'Groundhogs aren’t meteorologists - they're shy animals who would never choose to be exposed to flashing camera lights, human handling, and large, screaming crowds,' a spokesperson for the organization said.

'PETA encourages planners of Groundhog Day celebrations to follow Hollywood's lead by embracing animatronics - just as Skittles did this year in its Super Bowl ad featuring a beaver - and leaving groundhogs in peace.'

The Skittles commercial for this year's Super Bowl involves a robotic beaver catching candy in its mouth. 

Last year, PETA also wrote a blog post on the issue, saying that groundhogs used in celebrations are denied early hibernation and could develop 'stress-induced disorders' from being handled.

'Groundhogs are naturally shy, sensitive prey animals who react poorly when handled in front of raucous crowds, as evidenced by [2015]’s incident when a groundhog named Jimmy bit a Wisconsin mayor’s ear at the 67 annual Sun Prairie Groundhog Day celebration.

'Not only do events at which groundhogs are handled pose a risk to the animals and their handlers, such handling could also trigger other stress-induced disorders in animals who aren’t outwardly harmed. 

'Please don’t visit zoos, marine parks, or any other place that keeps animals in captivity...spread the word that animals aren’t actors, spectacles to imprison and gawk at, or circus clowns.'

In 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio famously dropped Staten Island Chuck - the Staten Island Zoo's woodchuck claim to fame - leading many to believe that the fall later killed the animal

'Not only do events at which groundhogs are handled pose a risk to the animals and their handlers, such handling could also trigger other stress-induced disorders in animals who aren’t outwardly harmed,' PETA said

Flatiron Freddy in Boulder has a different approach; the groundhog is dead and stuffed, attached to a pair of miniature skies. The marmots in Colorado's cold weather climate are hibernating during this time of year and are left undisturbed

Several public officials other than Wisconsin Mayor Jonathan Freund have been caught in the line of fire during Groundhog Day events.

In 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio famously dropped Staten Island Chuck - the Staten Island Zoo's woodchuck claim to fame - leading many to believe that the fall later killed the animal.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg also had a groundhog mishap when Chuck bit him in 2009. Phil, and other famous groundhogs like him, are now typically placed behind a protective Plexiglas case to keep them, and groundhog novices, safe from injury. 

Flatiron Freddy does things a little differently, though. 

Freddy made his winter appearance amid a small crowd of children and their parents on Thursday at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado, but did not see his shadow. 

The groundhog is dead and stuffed, attached to a pair of miniature skies. The marmots in Colorado's cold weather climate are hibernating during this time of year and are left undisturbed.

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