ABSTRACT
Ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) comprises a complex system of beliefs, skills, knowledge and practices relating to animal husbandry and general animal care (McCorkle 1986). The practice of EVM includes the use of diagnostic procedures, animal husbandry practices, surgical methods and traditional veterinary theory in addition to the use of ethnoveterinary plants to prevent and control disease (Schillhorn van Veen 1997, Van der Merwe et al. 2001). Ethnoveterinary medicine, the scientifi c term for traditional animal health care, provides low-cost alternatives to allopathic drugs. Research into ethnoveterinary medicine is often undertaken as part of a community-based approach that serves to improve animal health and provide basic veterinary services in rural areas (Mathius-Mundy and McCorkle 1989). In many poor rural areas, ethnoveterinary medicine can play an important role in animal production and often becomes the only available means for farmers to treat sick animals (Maine et al. 1996, Tamboura et al. 2000, Jabbar et al. 2005).
