Pumpkin dumping a scary threat to wildlife this Hallowe'en, warns the Woodland Trust
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The Woodland Trust has spotted a worrying trend in recent years for Hallowe’en pumpkins to be taken to the nearest wood and left, in a well-meaning but misguided attempt, to provide food for birds and woodland creatures.
“A myth seems to have built up that leaving pumpkins in woods helps wildlife. People think they’re doing a good thing by not binning them in landfill and instead leaving them for nature” said Paul Bunton, Engagement and Communication Officer at the conservation charity.
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Hide Ad“But pumpkin flesh can be dangerous for hedgehogs, attracts colonies of rats and also has a really detrimental effect on woodland soils, plants and fungi.
"We can’t leave dumped pumpkins to rot so we end up with an orange mushy mess to deal with at many of our sites.”
The Woodland Trust has tips on its website on how spooky leftovers can be best used, including making a pumpkin birdfeeder for the garden, which should be kept high off the ground well away from hedgehogs.
Trevor Weeks from East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service echoed the Trust’s concern over the risk to hedgehogs because, like other wildlife “they are opportunistic eaters and they spend autumn and early winter building up their fat reserves for hibernation”.
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Hide Ad“As a result, hedgehogs can gorge themselves on easily available food like dumped pumpkins,” Weeks added. “Although not toxic to them the fleshy fibrous fruit can cause stomach upsets and diarrhoea as they are not designed to eat large quantities of fruit.
“This can lead to them becoming bloated and dangerously dehydrated which in turn can be fatal. At this time of year, they can’t afford to become ill, or they may not survive the winter hibernation.”
According to the trust, which owns and cares for more than 1,000 free-to-visit woods across the UK, the pumpkin problem seems to be starting earlier and earlier, with supermarkets flooded with cheap pumpkins for sale and pumpkin-picking growing in popularity as a family activity in the run-up to Halloween.