We are appealing to people not to endanger wildlife by dumping pumpkins outside after use this Halloween.
At this time of year, well-meaning members of the public believe they are helping birds and wildlife by leaving pumpkins in wooded areas but, in fact, they can actually be very harmful.
Chris Hogsden, manager at The National Wildlife Rescue Centre said, “Pumpkins aren’t a natural food source for most of our native wildlife and, as with any food source that is not natural, it has the potential to makes animals such as hedgehogs, foxes and badgers unwell.
“More importantly, there may be a disease risk especially if they have been decorated with man-made substances or have contained candles and other items that may not have been removed from the pumpkin shell.”
To protect wildlife and to help reduce food waste, the charity suggests using the flesh to make pumpkin soup or adding your discarded pumpkin waste to your compost.
If anyone is worried about an animal they should call the charity’s confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
