Happy Ground Hog Day! (first cross-quarter day!)

[mrkirker]

King Billy, Lord of the Lower Garden, says "No Shadow!"

[pinecone70]

[pinecone70]

Here's the scoop on Phil:

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it's unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.

But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is "being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania." The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.

Deeley says PETA isn't interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.

[mrkirker]

News flash! This just 'in'!
New branch of PETA has been chartered. Yes, a new branch of the The organization long on photo opts, and short on brains, has initiated a new division for it’s older members, who, entering their ‘declining years', find it either difficult or impossible to scale fences, dig trenches, stand for long times in protest lines, or due to bladder control problems, find it difficult or ‘embarrassing’ to chain themselves to gates, doors, or animal control vehicles.
The new division will be known as Save A Groundhog, or SAG. Older members who wish to continue to carry the torch for publicity, er, , ah, , animal rights are encouraged to join.