Warning issued to anyone buying pumpkins this Halloween

A warning has been issued to anyone set to buy pumpkins this Halloween. With many set to buy pumpkins to carve and decorate over the next couple of weeks, an expert has urged people to discard of them wisely and safely after use.

A worrying trend in recent years has recommended 'recycling' pumpkins after use by leaving them in fields or woodland. But despite the good intentions, experts say that disposing of pumpkins this way could cause harm to wildlife and the ecosystem.

Animals that are most likely to be affected by pumpkins being left in the wild include hedgehogs, foxes and badgers. Whilst badgers and foxes may be able to enjoy pumpkin as long as it has been cut into small pieces and safely fed to them, for hedgehogs the risks can be fatal.

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Ecologists at Arbtech warn that with hibernation season just around the corner after Halloween, hedgehogs cannot afford to lose any weight through illness if they are to survive the winter.

Andrew Ward from Arbtech explains: "Pumpkins are not a natural food source for most wildlife and can make animals feel unwell and spread diseases.

“Any discarded pumpkin intended for wildlife should be cut into little pieces and left in small quantities. These should be placed on a raised platform such as a bird table so that hedgehogs are unable to access them.

Hedgehogs are omnivores and eating pumpkin can cause a range of issues for them, including dehydration and diarrhea. The issue is that hedgehogs can’t digest cellulose and pumpkins are therefore a natural laxative."

Andrew added: “Most pumpkins will also have been decorated in some way, and this has the potential to become a leading cause of