Indigenous animal health care practices in Indian Central Himalaya: Empirical evidences

Abstract

The Indian Central Himalaya supports about four million livestock population, which play

a vital role in the livelihood of the natives. In this remote ecosystem, where modern veterinary infrastructure is very poor both quantitatively and qualitatively, the locals have evolved indigenous health care practices to maintain their livestock population. The practices, based on locally available bioresources, are effective in healing diseases, do not have financial cost and are easily administrable. Through a survey covering eight settlements located within altitude ranging from 900 m to 1800 m in the region, an effort was made to document the indigenous animal health care practices interviewing 350 knowledgeable respondents drawn from both the sexes.