Ethno-veterinary Practices of Heat stress Management for Small Ruminants in Sindh

Abstract

The indigenous knowledge has traditionally been used to control the health of livestock with natural resources through ethno-veterinary practices (EVP). EVP is an important factor in reducing the heat stress in small ruminants, which is directly related to the productivity of livestock and the livelihood of farmers in heat-prone areas like Sindh as well as Pakistan. The paper seeks to report and discuss EVP measures used by farmers, veterinarians and animal health practitioners in heat stress control of sheep and goats in Sindh. This was done using a multistage stratified sampling method in seven districts. Structured questionnaires were used to gather data on 180 farmers and 30 animal health practitioners in 2021 and 2022. There were also socio-demographic variables, including age, education, experience in farming. Most of the respondents (97.6%) had known about heat stress and implemented different EVP measures. Some of the key practices were provision of water (98%), adoption of strategy of water provision placed 1st in small ruminant, shade (95%), 3^rd in sheep, 2^nd in goat, air-ventilation (81%) 4^th in sheep, 3^rd in goat, feed adjustments and supplement (76%) 5^th and 4^th, bedding (47%) 6^th and 5^th , and selection of breeds that are tolerant to heat (38%), at 7^th  and 6^th ranked in sheep and goat respectively. There were also reported 96% of sheep had wool shaved at rank 2 and 2.4% of goats had hair cut at rank 7 in order to minimize heat loss. The systems of farming were mainly semi-intensive (72%), then intensive (21%), and extensive nomadic (7%). There were evident variations between farmers and practitioners in the EVP application due to the difference in knowledge bases and experiences. EVP offers affordable, readily available and culturally sensitive measures of controlling heat stress in small ruminants. Combining the traditional veterinary and the aboriginal ways would improve the sustainability and resilience of livestock in heat stricken areas of Sindh.