Marion, Ohio, radio station WMRN-AM hosts an annual Groundhog Day event, and for years it used a live groundhog (known as Buckeye Chuck) supplied by Kokas Exotics—which is only licensed to breed and sell animals, not exhibit them. After PETA and nearly 20,000 of its supporters alerted the station that harassing a groundhog in a stressful, unfamiliar environment is cruel and that using Kokas would be illegal, WMRN didn’t feature a live groundhog at its 2023 event—for the first time in over 30 years! Buckeye Chuck’s reprieve is a small victory, but WMRN has yet to commit to making all future Groundhog Day events animal-free. Please urge the station to never exploit live groundhogs again.
