The importance of ethnoveterinary treatments for pig illnesses in poor, ethnic minority communities: a case study of Nu people in Yunnan, China

This paper reports the results of research on farmers’ pig health practices in three poor Nu villages in Yunnan, China. The research found that pigs are an important household asset; illness and disease are major constraints on pig rearing; farmers have rich knowledge of traditional ethnoveterinary practices; for most illnesses, farmers choose to use traditional curative practices rather than seek formal veterinary service providers. Factors influencing the farmers’ choice of treatment and provider include: availability of alternatives, distance to providers, indirect costs of travel, and direct costs of treatments. Farmers’ animal health care practices depend to a high degree on traditional knowledge and there are obstacles to accessing formal providers. In this situation there is potential value in validating ethnoveterinary practices and spreading knowledge of practices that are found to be effective.