Assessment of ethno-veterinary practices in small ruminants in Akinyele local government area, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria

Abstract

The application of traditional medicine to veterinary medicine has been termed ethno-veterinary medicine. Interview survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire to generate data on ethno-veterinary medicinal (EVM) practices used for treating pests and diseases of small ruminants in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. Information from one hundred and nine respondents was obtained through a multi-stage sampling technique. The data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics to generate frequencies and percentages. Demographic characteristics of the respondents showed that 62.39% were males and the majority of them fell within 41 – 50 years, married (48.62%), Christians (68.81%), practiced an extensive system of rearing (83.49%) with all of them into goat farming (100%) and 30.28% also having sheep in addition to goats. Secondary level education (38.53%) was the most attended by respondents. The majority sourced their EVM from family and relatives (76.15%), whereas the greatest causes of loss, constraint and ill-health were diseases (46.79%), feed resources (35.78%) and PPR (35.78%) respectively. Most of them agreed that EVM has medicinal value (91.74%), cheaper than orthodox drugs (93.58%), has side effects (52.29%) and also easier to administer (77.06%). Eighteen (18) plant products that include fruit, leaf, root and bark were used to treat various diseases such as mange, cough, mastitis, diarrhoea, PPR, anthrax and snake bite. It is therefore recommended that these findings be used as baseline information by identifying the effective herbal remedies for livestock health that can be utilized by veterinarians and pharmacologists for the development of new therapies as well as isolation of bioactive compounds.