Brits issued Halloween warning over popular pumpkin tradition which could actually cause a lot of harm
Halloween - a time to dress up scary, go trick or treating with your family or cosy up and watch your favourite jump-scare movie.
We all know the precautions to take around Halloween with fireworks or our pets, especially with the amount of strange people Halloween encourages but the danger of pumpkins probably wasn't on our list of things to worry about.
What's the issue with pumpkins on Halloween?
Buying pumpkins and going to pumpkin patches has been on the rise over the years and is often seen as a fun day out and a wholesome activity.
However, Brits have now been issued a warning over the tradition which could actually cause more harm than good.
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What's the tradition?
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 - which has surged in popularity in recent years - is 'recycling' pumpkins after use which sees people leaving them in nature like fields or wooded areas.
However, despite the good intentions, experts are saying that the disposal of pumpkins this way could actually cause harm to wildlife and the ecosystem.
Why is recycling pumpkins an issue?
Animals such as hedgehogs, foxes and badgers are top of the list of those most likely to be affected by pumpkins being left in the wild.
Badgers and foxes may however be able to enjoy pumpkin as long as it has been cut into small pieces and safely fed to them, but for hedgehogs the risks can be fatal, with hibernation season coinciding with Halloween, our prickly little friends can't afford to lose any weight due to illness.
What do the experts say?
Ecologist Andrew Ward from Arbtech explained: "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."
He also added that most pumpkins will also have naturally been decorated in some way for Halloween and this has an added potential to become a leading cause of spreading disease amongst wildlife in the post Halloween period.
So please, keep an eye out for your wildlife and make note of what you can do to avoid any danger to our furry friends.
Topics: Environment, Halloween, Animals
Sara Keenan