#AntiValentinesDay: Name venomous snakes after an ex-partner

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE:     Ah, Valentine’s Day – a joyous celebration of love and romance! Unless, of course, you’re single. Especially if you’ve just been dumped or otherwise split up with someone.

Wish to get away the frustration? Here is a chance. A zoo in Australia invites people to name one of their venomous snakes after an ex-partner all in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

This Valentine’s Day, you have an opportunity to literally put a ‘snaky status’ by naming one of the world’s most venomous snakes after them at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo!”

To enter, participants must fill out a form including the name of their ex-partner and detailing why they deserve to have a snake named after them. Entrants are also asked to make a $1 donation to the WILD LIFE Conservation Fund. The winning name will be selected by the zoo’s reptile team and revealed on Valentine’s Day.

“We hope that by providing someone unlucky in love the opportunity to name WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo’s very own brown snake after their ex, we can give them something else to celebrate on Valentine’s Day this year,” Mark Connolly, zoo’s general manager, said.

WILD LIFE Sydney posted the details on their Facebook page where many reacted to the zoo’s competition with delight, tagging their friends and vowing to submit the names of their ex or, in some cases, exes. Not everyone, however, was impressed by the concept with some riled users accusing the zoo of encouraging bullying. So basically, zoos are encouraging a heap of online bullying, aimed at attacking peoples exe’s?

And it’s not just WILD LIFE Sydney that understands not everyone wants to celebrate Valentine’s Day with flowers and a romantic meal. El Paso Zoo in Texas took to Facebook earlier this month, inviting people to name a cockroach after an ex.