PETA offers gold coin to replace Punxsutawney Phil

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — Animal rights organization PETA is offering up a giant gold coin to replace Punxsutawney Phil this Groundhog Day.

With Groundhog Day just 10 days away, the group sent a letter to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel offering to send the coin if Phil could live out his days in a sanctuary.

According to a release from PETA, Phil is kept in an enclosure at a library. The organization believes he needs more space to burrow, explore and hibernate.

“Groundhogs can’t make heads or tails of the weather forecast and shouldn’t be jostled around by large members of a different species and thrust in front of noisy crowds for a photo op,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said. “PETA is urging The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to send Phil to a reputable sanctuary that will give him the care he needs and not to treat him as a wildlife prop.”