PHOENIX — 'Tis the season for carving faces and other designs into pumpkins before putting candles inside the rotting gourds to celebrate Halloween. It's a wonderful tradition that comes with a very important caveat in many Arizona counties.
"Putting out a pumpkin for javelina is definitely feeding wildlife," said Amy Burnett with Arizona Game and Fish.
Leaving your pumpkins outside in Maricopa County is illegal and you could be fined for doing so. The law is aimed at protecting people from javelinas, which eat pumpkins and most other plants they can find.
"They get aggressive, and they get aggressive fast," Burnett said about a javelina's temperament when feeling threatened.
The Phoenix Zoo feeds pumpkins to its javelina as behavioral enrichment during the holiday season, and "they go wild" for it, according to zoo spokesperson Josh Crabtree.
Crabtree said the version of this gourd in your yard is even more enticing to these wild animals.
"With that pumpkin out front either starting to ripen or the candle lit in it, that's just going to increase that aroma in the air," Crabtree said.
The fine for leaving pumpkins in your yard can vary, but Burnett says it's best not to risk the citation.
Unlawful feeding of wildlife; classification
A. A person commits unlawful feeding of wildlife by intentionally, knowingly or recklessly feeding, attracting or otherwise enticing wildlife into an area, except for:
1. Persons lawfully taking or holding wildlife pursuant to title 17 or pursuant to rules or orders of the Arizona game and fish commission.
2. Public employees or authorized agents acting within the scope of their authority for public safety or for wildlife management purposes.
3. Normal agricultural or livestock operational practices.
4. Tree squirrels or birds.
B. This section applies in a county with a population of more than two hundred eighty thousand persons.
C. Unlawful feeding of wildlife is a petty offense.