People are being urged not to carelessly throw pumpkins away this Halloween as they could pose a danger to animals.

Many of us buy pumpkins at this time of year for carving as part of Halloween festivities, but by discarding them near wildlife we are actually putting animals at serious risk.

We may think leaving them in woodland areas for animals to feed on is a kind and resourceful thing to do, but pumpkins can have a damaging effect and lead to wildlife becoming sick or even developing a disease.

This is due to pumpkins not being a natural food source for them, as well as being potentially covered in manmade substances such as candle wax or decorations. 

The National Wildlife Rescue Centre (NWRC) is now urging people to dispose of used pumpkins by either using them to make soup or putting them in the compost. 

Chris Hogsden, manager at NWRC, said, “Pumpkins aren’t a natural food source for most of our native wildlife and, as with any food source that is not natural, it has the potential to make animals such as hedgehogs, foxes and badgers unwell.

“More importantly, there may be a disease risk especially if they have been decorated with man-made substances or have contained candles and other items that may not have been removed from the pumpkin shell.”

Paul Bunton, engagement and communication officer at the Woodland Trust, added: "Pumpkin flesh can be dangerous for hedgehogs, attracts colonies of rats and also has a really detrimental effect on woodland soils, plants and fungi.

"We can’t leave dumped pumpkins to rot so we end up with an orange mushy mess to deal with at many of our sites.”

If anyone is worried about an animal they should call the SSPCA confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.