One U.S. zoo is giving scorned lovers a chance at some closure — by naming a cockroach after their ex and feeding it to an animal.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, El Paso Zoo is reprising their “Quit Bugging Me” event that allows people to name an insect after a former significant other or someone that’s been “buggin'” them.
The Madagascar cockroaches, which are bigger than the typical household variety, will be fed to zoo animals like meerkats, birds and primates.
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It’s all in good fun, and meant to be a lighthearted fundraiser for the zoo from Feb. 1 to 15. Anyone interested is able to sign up on their website, submitting their foe’s name along with a small donation.
And in case those who submit names are worried about being found out, all names are revealed anonymously and only first names are used.
All donations, the website states, will go towards the zoo’s conservation efforts. For every US$1,000 raised, zoo director Joe Montisano will eat a cockroach himself.
Many people are eager to slap a name on their very own cockroach, with one person taking to the Instagram comments with her own request: “I need three roaches. Do snakes eat roaches?”
LISTEN: El Paso Zoo event coordinator Sarah Borrego joins Global News Radio 640 Toronto
“Really can’t wait to name a cockroach after my ex,” another wrote. “I’ve been waiting for this moment so long!”
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Last year, the zoo received more than 7,000 names and raised a total of $3,000, the El Paso Herald Post reports.
The zoo, which purchases 1.5 million insects a year, ethically freezes the cockroaches so they aren’t alive at feeding time, the website says.
The “anti-Valentine’s Day” event is also meant to raise awareness of how important regulating zoo animals’ diets is.
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“Insects are a normal part of these animals’ diets, in captivity or the wild,” the website states. “While in our care, we try to replicate this as much as possible.”
Animals will chow down on the bugs on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 15 and Feb. 16.
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