Pumpkins: Halloween is one night. If you have to waste a food item (and I strongly suggest you don't), please put it out for one night, then 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. 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. 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.🚨

When you see a hedgehog out in the day time please remember he's been sick for a long time before taking this last desperate step. He's dying. IT'S AN EMERGENCY. Take him indoors in the warmth and ring a rescue IMMEDIATELY. Find your nearest rescue here: helpwildlife.co.uk/