Let them eat cake? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, believes it has a sweet deal for the people near Gobbler’s Knob, home to Punxsutawney Phil. The organization sent the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club a letter asking them to let Phil retire from his yearly prognosticating. PETA believes that Phil is being exploited every year, so in exchange, they’ll send a “weather reveal” cake each Groundhog Day — similar to a gender reveal cake. The proposed cake will be cut to expose one of two colors: blue, signifying six more weeks of winter, or pink, indicating an early spring. The letter — written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk — said in part: “I’m writing again on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally, including many thousands in Pennsylvania—with a sweet new offer: Retire Phil to a reputable sanctuary with his family, and every year we’ll provide a giant vegan “Weather Reveal” cake (it would be the first in the world this year) to share with revelers at Gobbler’s Knob. 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. This would allow you to still make tourism dough while showing Phil a slice of decency. It would be as least as accurate as asking a groundhog what to expect in a way that doesn’t even reflect his nature. You batter believe that for Phil, Groundhog Day is no piece of cake. Groundhogs are shy prey animals who, when allowed, actively avoid humans. Yet, year after year, Phil is transported to Gobler’s Knob, whisked on stage, and subjected to a noisy announcer, screaming crowds, and flashing lights against all his natural instincts. If approached in his natural habitat, he would run away in fear, not volunteer to live year-round in captivity, unable to do anything that’s natural and important to him like hibernate or burrow—just to be a town’s once-a-year fake meteorologist.” In the past, PETA has even offered to replace Punxsutawney Phil with an enormous, golden, weather-predicting coin. “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,” Newkirk said in a news release. “PETA is urging The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to sprinkle some happiness into Phil’s life by retiring him and giving Groundhog Day a much-needed ‘cake makeover.’” The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has not released any response to PETA but has recently announced Punxsutawney Phil as Ace Hardware’s newest “seasonal employee” and details on Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob coming up next month. Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.