MP urges public to carve out time to protect hedgehogs this Hallowe'en
Hundreds of pumpkins are dumped in woodlands following Hallowe'en each year, creating deadly hazards for Britain’s favourite prickly friends.
Now local MP Alex Mayer who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trees and Woods, is calling on the public to take extra care in disposing of their pumpkins to help protect hedgehogs and other wildlife.
Hedgehogs, in particular, are drawn to the sweet scent of decomposing pumpkins especially as Halloween coincides with the time hedgehogs are looking to fatten themselves up for hibernation.
But pumpkins give hedgehogs diarrhoea meaning they lose weight, dehydrate and then may sadly struggle to survive hibernation.
“Let’s not turn Halloween into a house of horrors for our hedgehogs,” says Alex Mayer MP.
Dumped pumpkins can also disturb the sensitive balance of woodland soils.
The Woodland Trust suggests pumpkins should instead be used as autumnal bird feeders or composted safely at home. They have top tips on their website.
“If we carve out a little extra time to dispose of pumpkins responsibility we’re making a huge difference. Hedgehogs are already struggling in the UK, with numbers in decline, and simple actions like this can help them survive and thrive,”the MP added.