Plea not to dump pumpkins in the New Forest
The fruit can be harmful to animals, especially to hedgehogs
Last updated 1st Nov 2022
Forest rangers are warning of threats to wildlife from dumping Halloween pumpkins in New Forest National Park.
It can also make birds, foxes, badgers, deer, and boar unwell.
Pumpkins which are decorated and still have candles in them, can even be deadly if animals eat them.
Forestry England, who manage the majority of the site, says pumpkin flesh and seeds can be particularly harmful to hedgehogs, making them very poorly.
This comes as advice found online, including social media, seems to be driving more people to leave their Halloween pumpkins in New Forest National Park, thinking they will be a good snack for the animals.
Kate Wollen, Assistant Ecologist at Forestry England, is urging people to ignore that advice, warning that it can damage the health of forest animals, big and small.
“We see many posts on social media encouraging people to leave pumpkins in the woods for wildlife to eat, but please do not do this. Pumpkins are not natural to the woodland and while some wildlife may enjoy a tasty snack it can make others, such as hedgehogs, very poorly.
“Feeding pumpkins, or any other food in the forest, to birds, foxes, badgers, deer, and boar can make them unwell and can spread disease.
“Pumpkins are also often decorated and have things such as candles in them. Animals eating the pumpkins could then eat a foreign object and this could kill them.”
Is it safe or not for horses?
While horse owners may choose to feed pumpkin to their horses, Charlotte Belcher, Community Ranger at New Forest National Park says people need to understand that's different for livestock that is out in the forest.
"They are left as wild as possible and they're very used to their natural nutrition that they get from the forest and what is naturally there, so anything that is introduced to that environment can present different hazards.
"Also, the scale of it... you really don't know how many (pumpkins) might be left in one particular area or how much an animal might ingest, (if they eat too much) it might lead to colic. There is a choking hazard as well."
New Forest National Park are also urging people to dispose of their pumpkins responsibly, highlighting the threat it can pose to livestock when they're dumping by the roadside.
Charlotte says people may have good intentions, but it can actually be quite dangerous:
"It's a hazard to any livestock which are then attracted to the roadside, putting them at risk of collision with vehicles.
"It's a bit like a form of fly-tipping, really. It's rubbish that is left on the forest, it's not part of the natural system, it shouldn't be there.
"Our team have to spend a lot of time clearing them up and that can last for many weeks... In fact, we've already been picking them up in the last couple of weeks and I anticipate we might see a lot more over the coming weeks, so we're really trying to get the message out to try and prevent that from happening."
The Woodland Trust charity have also urged people to avoid dumping pumpkins in the woods, with a video depicting other ways to reuse and recycle your pumpkin carvings.