On Valentine's Day, have a cockroach named after your ex and watch it being fed to animals

It's that time of the year again. That time when those in love voluntarily become victims of one of the biggest corporate schemes in existence: Valentine's Day. That time when everywhere you look, you are confronted by all things red, heart-shaped, and whatever else generations of romcoms have deemed romantic. It's when some of us are reminded of the spawns of Satan we had the misfortune of dating and have the barely-healed wounds they left us with ripped wide open yet again. Luckily, this year, the San Antonio Zoo is offering the brokenhearted an incredibly cathartic means to spend Valentine's Day and possibly even get some kind of closure.

The San Antonio Zoo's first-ever "Cry Me a Cockroach" event is a one-of-a-kind fundraiser that lets you take some well-deserved revenge on a former love interest while also helping feed some of the zoo's residents. You know how burning photos of an ex and watching them turn to ashes is known to provide some form of closure? The "Cry Me a Cockroach" event is somewhat similar to this popular post-breakup ritual except that it requires some cockroaches and rats to become martyrs for a worthy cause.

"Have you ever been crushed by an ex? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you to mend that broken heart. This Valentine’s Day, San Antonio Zoo is hosting our first ever 'Cry Me a Cockroach' event. You will be able to name a cockroach after your ex, and we will serve it up as an enrichment treat to one of our animals for only $5. If your ex was a snake, you can even name a pre-frozen rodent after them, and we will feed it to a reptile for $25! The certificate you will receive can be shared on your own social media pages," the zoo explained.

Thankfully, the event isn't exclusive to broken hearts in San Antonio. You can submit your ex's name from pretty much anywhere in the world and live-stream the rodent/cockroach named after them being fed to one of the zoo's animals on February 14. According to CNN, you have until February 13 at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. EST) to anonymously submit a name through the zoo's website. As for the cockroaches and rodents becoming martyrs in the process, the internet seem divided on the ethics of it all.

Facebook user Purviz Birdie commented: This is absolutely disgusting and shocking. It is incredible that someone at the San Antonio Zoo came up with such a cruel thing to do on Valentine's Day. No matter what we do to each other as humans do not need to become an inhumane act for another species. Shame on the San Antonio Zoo for this vile exploitation of living beings. This awful act must be strongly admonished by the community. Meanwhile, Jessie Marie appeared to take the zoo's side, writing: This is a wonderful way to raise money. The animals/reptiles would be eating these critters either way.

The zoo clarified on the event website that live rodents won't be a part of the event. "No, the pre-frozen rodents we utilize are part of regular daily scheduled feedings of our animals. They are delivered frozen from a mouse farm and stored at our Nutrition Center until thawed for feedings. Live roaches are sourced from professional roach breeders, the colony is cared for and maintained by the Reptile Department in the Reptile House. All of our feeder insects were part of the audit by American Humane (the oldest animal welfare organization in the country). During our animal welfare audit by American Humane the treatment of all the animals in our care including feeders such as cockroaches, mealworms, crickets, and more were inspected," the zoo explained. So, there you have it! You can check out the event (and submit your ex's name) here.