Donate your Halloween pumpkins to feed wildlife

Now that Halloween is over, don’t just throw your Jack O’Lanterns in the trash. Use them to benefit wildlife!

The folks at Animal Advocates in Los Angeles, CA posted a reminder on their Facebook page this week reminding people to donate their pumpkins to animal wildlife centers. I’ve heard of rescue centers needing pet supplies. But how can old vegetables help with the rehabilitation of sick and injured wildlife animals?

Mary Cummings from Animal Advocates told me that centers like theirs feed the pumpkins to the animals, who play with them and then eat them. “Raccoons LOVE pumpkins,” she says, “so do skunks … We roast pumpkin seeds and give them to squirrels. Our omnivores also eat them.”

What a great idea and an inexpensive way to help out your local wildlife rescue. Visit this website to find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area, and follow Animal Advocates on Facebook.