Herman Torty

Pumpkins: Halloween is one night. Tonight. If you have to waste a food item (and I strongly suggest you don't), please put it out for that one night, then safely dispose of it. Please DO NOT put it out for the wildlife. Once you've handled it, cut it, left it out in the open, unrefrigerated, it will not be hygienic or safe for anyone to eat. Pumpkins are a low-acid vegetable, so once they are cut and left at room temperature, pathogens will rapidly grow on the flesh, producing mould spores. Our precious wildlife do not have any magical properties that protect them against food poisoning. Additionally, this time of year there are baby hedgehogs around, born too late to find natural food, desperate to eat anything to stop the pain of starvation. Pumpkin has a laxative affect so it would be particularly cruel to leave it out for starving wildlife to eat in desperation, causing them to lose precious fluids that may make the difference between life and death. So no matter what you read elsewhere, please DO NOT put your discarded decoration out for the birds or any other wildlife. Please DO NOT compost them either, as a composting pumpkin can produce highly toxic tremorgenic mycotoxins, which will be deadly if the compost bin is not properly secured and is accessible to wildlife (or pets). Many hedgehogs, seeking the warmth of a compost bin, die this way every year. Once you've used the pumpkin as decoration it's waste, fit only for the bin. Please help get this vital message spread far and wide, to save precious lives and prevent suffering.