Ahead of Groundhog Day in the self-proclaimed “Groundhog Capital of the World,” PETA is blitzing area buses with a wildlife-friendly message urging the city to chuck the ridiculous practice of forcing a frightened animal to predict the weather and instead leave groundhogs in peace this February. PETA points out that unlike the trained meteorologists on TV, groundhogs are shy individuals who would never choose to be in front of cameras or crowds and that, like all wild animals, they belong in the wild—not in cages or pens at shady roadside zoos.

Credit: PETA

“Groundhogs can’t predict the weather, but they can feel enormous stress when they’re deprived of hibernation, jostled around by large members of a different species, and thrust in front of noisy crowds,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is calling on Sun Prairie officials to wise up and employ only willing human participants in their Groundhog Day celebration, rejecting the old idea that frightened wildlife are props.”

PETA’s message appears on 10 City of Madison Metro Transit buses through February 11.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.