People are being urged to avoid leaving their used pumpkins in woodlands this Halloween. The warning comes from the UK's largest wildlife charity, The Woodland Trust, which has highlighted the dangers of doing so to wildlife.
Pumpkin flesh can be fatal to hedgehogs, which are already declining across Britain. A 2022 report by The State of Britain's Hedgehogs revealed hedgehogs have declined by between 30 and 75 per cent across different areas of the British countryside since 2000, with the largest declines in the eastern half of England.
Large amounts of pumpkin can also cause them to suffer severe stomach upsets, diarrhoea and dehydration, which can be detrimental at this time of year as they go into hibernation. Pumpkin flesh also has a damaging effect on local plant life.
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Pumpkins take a long time to break down and as they rot, they damage delicate woodland ecosystems and attract rats. In Nottinghamshire, there are several Woodland Trust locations, including: The Young People’s Forest at Mead, Oldmoor Wood, Hollinwood and Bonney Doles.
According to The Woodland Trust, there has been a trend in recent years around Halloween for pumpkins to be dumped at the nearest woods, in what they say is "a well-meaning but misguided attempt, to provide food for birds and woodland creatures." However, it can actually do more harm than good, especially to many of the country's most-loved wild animals.
As the Trust's Engagement and Communication Officer, Paul Bunton, explains: "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. 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."
Worse still, the Trust says 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. Paul added: "Thousands of tonnes of pumpkin gets thrown away in the UK after Halloween each year, so it would be great if we could all put that to better use.”
Trevor Weeks from East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service said hedgehogs “are opportunistic eaters and they spend autumn and early winter building up their fat reserves for hibernation As a result, hedgehogs can gorge themselves on easily available food like dumped pumpkins.
“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," Trevor explained. “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.”
The Trust is urging Brits to search online for other great ways to use pumpkins instead, from creative recipes, autumnal bird feeders and planters to composting or donating to zoos or farms for animal feed.
Make a pumpkin bird feeder:
- Take the lid off your jack-o'-lantern, or if you have a fresh pumpkin, cut the top off and scoop out the insides.
- Push strong sticks through so that they jut out to create perches for the birds.
- Fill with bird seed and place on a bird table, or tie strings to the sticks and hang from a sturdy branch.
- Keep it clean and add it to the compost heap when it starts to rot to avoid harming the birds.
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