Traditional knowledge in veterinary medicine: A case study of Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh (India)

The present study aimed at collection and documentation of the traditional knowledge about veterinary medicines for treating animal diseases and ailments in the district Gorakhpur of Uttar Pradesh. It is based upon survey of focus groups comprised of knowledgeable persons in selected villages. In all diseases, diarrhea, placenta related problems, irregularity in estrus cycle, foot and mouth disease, redness and mucous in eyes, anorexia, prolapse and fracture were found to be the most common animal diseases in Gorakhpur. A total 62 plant species, plant parts and other materials have been found to be used for medicinal preparations for treating 37 diseases and ailments of the animals in the form of 92 remedies. The choice of a farmer between the traditional and modern system of treating animal diseases revealed that half of the cases were treated by the sample households themselves (self-treatment), using traditional, shared community knowledge or advice of a knowledgeable person. The landless and poor livestock farmers use traditional veterinary medicine much more as compared to others. The choice of the farmers depends upon several factors such as household’s judgment about how serious is the disease, accessibility of the sources, past experience about their effectiveness, and ofcourse resources available.