ELDER was traditionally used as a medicine to treat foot-rot in cattle (Norfolk), Yarrow to treat red-water fever in cattle (Caernarvonshire), and Foxglove to treat mange or fleas in dogs (Gloucestershire).
Plants have been used for thousands of years in the British Isles to treat animals, or as feeds to improve their health.
This information was passed from one generation to the next and was often not written down. How much of this knowledge remains in the population?
The Ethnoveterinary Medicine Project, established by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, aims to collect the remaining information before it is lost: an important part of the traditional rural culture.
However, this knowledge could also be used practically in animal management (livestock, pets), to improve their health and the economy.
If you have any information about ethnoveterinary medicines, feed supplements or other information relating to plants/fungi and animal health from the British Isles, please send an email to ethnovet@kew.org.
Or alternatively, write to William Milliken, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, RH17 6TN.
Dr William Milliken
Research Leader - Diversity & Livelihoods
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
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