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I can sort of see where they're coming from...i daresay the lights and noise and crowds once a year probably is distressing for the critter. But five minuutes after he's back in his enclosure and he'll have forgotten all about it. Animals are often a damn sight more resilient than we credit them with being. If they weren't half the wildlife in Britain would be dropping dead of fright every November when the fireworks take over the night sky.
i could see an argument for this as cruelty in terms of his being in captivity...but that kind of depends on how he'd live in the wild and how much of that is replicated in captivity. For instance; I don't know if they're social creatures, but if they are then holding him in a state of isolation could be considered cruel. There is of course an easy way around that: get more groundhogs. If they're not social creatures then isolation is unlikely to be a problem: but access to other groundhogs at whatever times of year groundhogs seek mates etc might be a good call.
I'd have more sympathy with PETA's stand if they were advising on better ways to keep the critter. Otherwise they are knowingly taking on a fight they cannot win just for their own publicity purposes, rather than out of genuine concern for the groundhog.
Which brings me to my other point: fights should be chosen. When you consider some of the cruelties inflicted on farm animals on their way to becoming food; wtf are they doing wasting their time and energy on a relatively well-kept groundhog? Given the abject state of some of the animals used for medical and scientific testing; why is this creature a focus?
It's publicity seeking nonsense. If they actually gave a damn about that creature they'd have the sense to know that this is a losing fight and choose a strategy that seeks to ameliorate rather than end the circsumstances of his captivity.
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