Feed your ex's name to a meerkat with this Edmonton zoo Valentine's Day fundraiser

Creepy crawlies and feeding time go hand in hand at the Edmonton Valley Zoo this year in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

The Valley Zoo Development Society organized the first “Dump Your Ex, Adopt an Animal” fundraising campaign where participants can donate between $5 to $50 to symbolically adopt and name a mealworm or rodent after a not-so-special someone in your life where they will be fed to the animals at the zoo.

Kelley Polowy, the special events coordinator for the Valley Zoo Development Society, believes that bidding farewell to an ex has never tasted so sweet, at least for the mob of meerkats.

“This is a great way to get people involved and show them the fantastic job the zookeepers are doing,” said Polowy. “All of this is happening year-round but we figured what better time to get people engaged and really seeing what it looks like behind the scenes.”

The fundraiser was inspired from the Bronx Zoo’s “Name a Roach for your Valentine” and San Antonio’s “Cry Me a Cockroach” fundraisers. The Edmonton Valley Zoo has put their unique spin on the idea by involving the mob of meerkats.

Worms will be fed to meerkats as part of a Valentine's Day fundraiser at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)

Donations are set up on the zoo’s website on a tier system. For $5 you can name a mealworm after an ex and receive a download code for a meerkat themed Valentine’s Day card.

And $10 will grant you the same, but also a chance to have your ex’s name read out loud as a meerkat enjoys their squirmy treat. Amounts of $25 and $50 grant you a frozen rodent that will be fed to a snake and an e-card, with the latter also getting you an official certificate stating your ex’s name was fed to a snake.

All donations will help support the enrichment and ongoing care of the animals at the zoo.

On Tuesday, the zoo said it had raised $1,605.