Brief intro to EVM in Europe

A couple of ethnoveterinary studies were done in the 1990s: a study in Spain by Agelet and Vallès (1999) mentioned 76 EVM remedies. There was also a published report from Austria (Ludwig 1996). Allen and Hatfield (2004) compiled a survey of medicinal plants from British and Irish folk traditions. They presented 105 genera of vascular plants that were used to treat animals. In the Netherlands, herbal use for both animals and humans is similar to that in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Van Asseldonk and Beijer, 2006). IEZ recorded 168 folk remedies for animals, including 63 plant genera (68 plant species) (Van Asseldonk and Beijer, 2006). The animals involved most frequently were horses. There were only a few remedies for pigs, and contact with the association of organic pig farmers confirmed that their members hardly used herbs. Of the 68 plant species (involving 36 families), 92% were indigenous to or naturalized in the Netherlands. Apart from nettles, there was hardly any harvesting from the wild. Wageningen University questioned organic farmers in the Netherlands on their actual medicine use, and this revealed some use of alternative remedies (Kijlstra et al., 2004; Van der Meulen et al., 2004a and 2004b; Van der Werf et al., 2004a and 2004b). A lack of knowledge regarding quality, safety, and efficacy of these remedies existed both among farmers and among the researchers. A field study of 30 organic dairy farms was done by the Dutch Institute for Food Safety RIKILT (Groot, 2003). Many of these farms used homeopathic remedies (27% of treatments), a majority used allopathic medicines ( 61% ) and phytomedicines consisted of 10% of the treatments mentioned. However, it is worth noting that in the Netherlands, as in most of Western Europe, many herbal tinctures are registered as homeopathic and were indicated as such by the farmers. Many of them should be categorized as herbal medicines due to the concentrations used. The bulk of the published studies on EVM are from Italy. An Italian study published by Uncini Manganelli et al. (2001) reported on EVM in Tuscany. Pieroni et al. (2004) conducted a survey in the south of Italy. The Rubia project, a large study coordinated in Wageningen University by Pieroni, described the actual Mediterranean use of herbs, including ethnoveterinary uses. In the survey, 135 veterinary preparations and 110 plant taxa were recorded; with Asteraceae and Lamiaceae the most mentioned botanical families (Pieroni et al., 2006). Agelet, A., and Vallès, J. 1999. Vascular plants used in ethnoveterinary in Pallars (Pyrenees, Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula, in Herbs, humans and animals/Erbe, uomini e bestie, Pieroni, A., Ed., Germany, pgs 14–35. Allen, D.E., and Hatfield, G. 2004. Medicinal plants in folk tradition, an ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland, Timber Press, Cambridge, UK. Groot, M.J.2003. Deskstudie alternatieve gezondheidszorg voor melkvee, RIKILT, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Kijlstra, A.; Werf, J.T.N. van der; Buitendijk, J. 2004. Inventarisatie diergeneesmiddelengebruik in de biologische geitenhouderij. Lelystad : Animal Sciences Group, (Rapport / Animal Sciences Group April 2004). Ludwig, M. 1996. Phytotherapie beim Rind einst und jetzt—alte Indikationen neu bewertet. Inaugural-dissertation, Veterinary University Vienna, Austria. Mul, M.F.; Reuvekamp, B.F.J. 2008. Inventarisatie van mogelijke fytotherapeutica met een werking tegen wormen bij pluimvee. Wageningen: Animal Sciences Group, Pieroni A., Giusti, M.E., de Pasquale, C., et al. 2006. Circum-Mediterranean cultural heritage and medicinal plant uses in traditional animal healthcare: a field survey in eight selected areas within the RUBIA project. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2, 2006, 16. Pieroni, A.1999. Ed., Herbs, humans and animals/Erbe, uomini e bestie, Experiences, Cologne, Germany. Pieroni, A., Howard, P., Volpato, G., and Santoro, R.F. 2004. Natural remedies and nutraceuticals used in ethnoveterinary practices in inland southern Italy. Veterinary Research Communications, 28: 55–80. Uncini Manganelli, R.E., Camangi, F., Tomei, P.E. 2001. Curing animals with plants: traditional usage in Tuscany (Italy). J Ethnopharmacol 78:171–191. Van Krimpen, M.M., Binnendijk, G.P., Borgsteede, F.H., Gaasenbeek, C.P., 2010. Anthelmintic effects of phytogenic feed additives in Ascaris suum inoculated pigs. Vet. Parasitol. 168 (3–4): 269–277. Van der Meulen, J., Kijlstra, A., Van den Berg, M., and Spruit, J.2004a. Inventarisatie diergeneesmiddelengebruik in de biologische pluimveehouderij, CIDC Lelystad, WUR, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Van der Meulen, J., Kijlstra, A., Reijmer, E. and Sielias, W.2004b. Inventarisatie diergeneesmiddelen gebruik in de biologische varkenshouderij, CIDC Lelystad, WUR, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Van der Werf, J.T.N.; Kijlstra, A.; Buitendijk, J.; Klink, M.C.M.; Munniksma, K.; Schaaf, R. van der. 2004. Inventarisatie diergeneesmiddelen in de biologische melkveehouderij. Lelystad : Animal Sciences Group, (Rapport / Animal Sciences Group September 2004).