Visitors to the official city buildings of Plettenberg, Germany, can expect to see a variety of homey furnishings, with one notable exception: cacti. The thorny plant was banned.

According to According to Sky News, Plettenberg Mayor Ulrich Schulte has issued a city-wide order removing cacti from all government, school and daycare facilities following an accident involving a man who suffered an injury related to cacti.

“Due to the current situation, all official and private cacti (Cactaceae) must be removed from municipal buildings immediately,” Schulte wrote, the latter likely referring to the cacti adorning offices and other workspaces. “Even if this order seems adventurous, excessive, superfluous or ridiculous to certain employees, it has a serious basis in terms of protecting the health of all employees and in particular of children in schools and daycare centers.”

The victim, who has not been identified, reportedly suffered an arm injury, which a city official said could easily have been more serious if a child had run into the cactus in question.

Is Mayor Schulte reckless? Not exactly. Although most (but not all) cacti are non-toxic to humans and animals and does not act as a poison delivery system, being speared by a cactus thorn can still be problematic.

Depending on the species concerned, the spines can prove stubborn to remove thanks to the secondary pins along the entire length. Opuntia littoralisor the coastal prickly pear native to Southern California, has 1.5-inch needles as well as smaller glochids – both have “teeth” that can make extraction difficult.

Since cacti, indoors or outdoors, can attract debris and dirt, a puncture wound can also cause a secondary bacterial infection requiring medical attention. If you get stuck, it’s best to remove the tip as quickly as possible with tweezers. If a spike persists, it may go away, but you should still seek treatment to avoid complications.

Cacti, of course, are faultless in this situation. Their thorns have the mission of protect the plant from predators, as well as to provide shade and reduce water evaporation. They also seem effective at getting them out of boring government buildings.

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