Every year in Anchorage, AK, the local Bird Treatment and Learning Center hosts the “Love Hurts” fundraiser. The fundraiser aims to help the nonprofit rehab center for birds in the area by asking for donations.
For $10, a small bird will eat a mealworm named after an ex-partner. For $100, a raptor will devour a rat named after someone’s ex. The event usually takes place around Valentine’s Day each year, and regardless of the donation size, people will receive a video of the event to watch.
This fundraiser has been going on for a few years now and has raised a significant amount of money. This year, the organization announced that it raised over $18,000, with donations from 42 states and seven different countries.
The Bird Treatment and Learning Center isn’t the only place cashing in on people’s dislike of their exes. The San Antonio Zoo has a fundraiser where people can donate money to name a cockroach, a piece of vegetable, or a rodent, and watch it get eaten. This event is called “Cry Me a Cockroach.” The zoo hasn’t announced how much it has raised, but it is very likely they, too, will raise a lot of money.
Local animal shelters are also capitalizing on the Anti-Valentine’s Day trend, where the public can donate money to name a feral cat or dog after someone’s ex and have the animal spayed or neutered. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa hosted one of these events from Feb. 3–14 this past year. This fundraiser also hasn’t announced how much it raised, but it all goes to a good cause.
