Ethno Veterinary Practices Prevalent Among Livestock Rearers at Arbe Gona And Loka Abaya Woredas of Sidama Zone of Southern Ethiopia

The use of ethno veterinary medicine as practiced among the residents of Arbe Gona and Loka Abaya woredas has been discussed. The study was conducted using semi structured questioner, focus group discussion and personal interviews. The respondents were identified by stepwise purposive sampling procedures. The study indicates that ethno veterinary medicine has been practiced among the agrarian community in the region since time immemorial. The results indicate that the practice is mostly a family affair with the knowledge transferred from the elders to the youngsters within a family. Thirty seven different types of medicinal herbs/plants used in ethno veterinary drug preparation were identified, the most commonly used plant part was the leaf followed by other plant parts viz. xylem, roots, barks etc. Mostly the drugs were used through oral route. Though topical application, fumigation and intravenous route of administration of the drugs too are on record. Twenty two commonly occurring diseases were identified by the respondents and their treatments too have been discussed. Use of different parts of several plants in unison is the common practice. The results also indicated that the medicinal plants are mostly collected from the wild and are under threat due to both ecological and anthropogenic factors and hence need conservation. The study also revealed that the millennia old practice is under threat due to lack of enthusiasm from the younger generations to take up the baton from the elder generation. © 2014, Zoological Society, Kolkata, India.