[Image: Animalia / CC]
This Valentine’s Day, it’s revenge for a good cause, and for the price of a box of chocolates, you can finally find closure over an old flame.
An endangered owl breeding program in Canada allows visitors to name rats after their exes before the rodents are fed to northern spotted owls.
The British Columbia-based breeder is running its No regRATS campaign ahead of Valentine’s Day, promising a photo and video of one’s rat, named after a former lover – or arch-enemy – and the owl it has been fed to in exchange for at least a C$5 (R64) donation.
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Before industrial logging in southwest British Columbia, there were nearly 1,000 spotted owls in the old-growth forests. But they have vanished in recent decades, victims of habitat destruction.
Efforts to revive the population have failed, with a pair of owls released from the breeding program dying within months. The lone female in the wild is also believed to have died.
The breeding program, which operates with limited funds, is seen as the last hope of returning the owls to the wild and reviving a population widely seen as a barometer for the health of old-growth ecosystems.
Not everyone has a bone to pick with an ex, and rodent lovers are not feeling the love either. The breeding program has been accused of giving rats a bad rep by comparing them to exes.
“How dumb and cruel. What you are feeding is a bad opinion about rats. Completely undeserved. What about ticks or mosquitoes instead?”
The breeding program however says rodents make up most of the owls’ diet, so “They’re going to be eating the rats anyway.”
We’re just trying to have a little fun and fundraise so we can continue caring for the owls. Don’t get us wrong, we love rats too.”
It may not be the most romantic activity you can enjoy on Valentine’s Day, but everyone has an ex, and some exes are real rats. Why not get some catharsis while saving a species?
And if you still love your rodent, don’t forget Valentine’s Day tomorrow!
[Source: Guardian]
