Reminder - do not feed pumpkin waste to pigs
2nd Nov 2021 / By Alistair Driver
At this time, there is a real temptation to feed pumpkins left over from Halloween to pigs. There is, after all, no shortage of them about.
However, this could pose a serious disease risk and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, with strong backing from the NPA and pig vets, is warning pig keepers not to do it.
In a series of messages on Twitter, APHA said: "The ban on feeding kitchen waste to livestock was introduced after the devastation of foot & mouth disease - the most likely cause of the 2001 outbreak was catering waste being fed to #Pigs.
"Pumpkins can only be fed to livestock if they have NEVER entered a kitchen & the carving utensils have never been in contact with products of animal origin. This is to help prevent diseases like #AfricanSwineFever.
"Veg from your kitchen may be cross contaminated by infected meat & risks spreading animal diseases."
"Leftover #Halloween #Pumpkins? Unless they were not carved in your house & were carved using utensils that have never entered your kitchen please don’t feed them to your #Pigs. Make #PumpkinSoup or #Compost them to feed your garden. #AfricanSwineFever"
You read more about what you can and can't feed pigs HERE
The message was reinforced by pig vet Duncan Berkshire on Twitter, who added: "Please spread this information far and wide - many people still think that this is okay and that pigs can eat waste food scraps. Feeding pigs food from any kitchen is illegal, and with good reason... #pigs @SaveGBBacon"