Zootherapy as a potential pathway for zoonotic spillover: a mixed-methods study of the use of animal products in medicinal and cultural practices in Nigeria

Comparing Perspectives on Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use in Oncology: Insights from Healthcare Professionals and Oncology Patients in Western Mexico

Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) plays a significant role in healthcare practices among healthcare professionals and oncology patients in Mexico, reflecting its cultural importance. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence, frequency, and factors associated with T&CM use in these two groups, highlighting the differences in practices and perceptions. A total of 382 individuals participated, including 152 healthcare professionals and 230 oncology patients. The findings revealed that while T&CM use was similarly prevalent among healthcare professionals (85.7%) and oncology patients (90.8%), frequent use (≥2 times per week) was significantly higher among patients (46.3%) compared to healthcare professionals (19.1%, p < 0.001). Healthcare professionals showed a preference for non-conventional nutritional interventions (32.5%) and yoga (14.6%) while oncology patients favored plant-based remedies (73.6%) and the consumption of exotic animals and venoms (4.8%). Females were more likely to use T&CM across both groups, with a stronger association among healthcare professionals (AdOR 3.695, 95% CI 1.8-7.4). Oncology patients were less likely to understand T&CM concepts and were more commonly associated with lower socioeconomic status and educational attainment. These findings underscore the importance of considering cultural and demographic factors when integrating T&CM into conventional medical care, especially in regions where T&CM remains widely practiced and trusted.

Predictors of Frequency and Success of Wild Meat Hunting Trips and Carcass Prices in an African Biodiversity Hotspot

Hunting wild animals for food and income, which is pervasive across tropical regions, drives biodiversity loss. Interventions to promote sustainable wild meat harvesting require information on hunter behavior. Here we monitored the hunting activities of 33 hunters in SE Nigeria over three years (1,106 hunter-months) to identify correlates of (a) the probability of initiating a hunting trip on any given day; (b) trip success - whether an animal was caught, and if so, how many; and (c) carcass price. We found a higher probability of initiating a trip during periods with bright moon phases and in peak agriculture season. Hunters were more likely to catch at least one animal when there was less rainfall and on shorter hunting trips. However, among successful trips, the number of animals caught increased with trip duration. Taken together, these results suggest hunters set themselves a minimum target of not returning empty-handed rather than optimally adjusting their hunting effort. Lastly, the carcass price per kilogram of a species' meat increased with its palatability but decreased with mass, with the fall in price observed to be greater for rarely caught, smaller-bodied animals than more frequently caught animals. Our results provide deeper insights into the behavioral plasticity of wild meat hunters.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10745-025-00572-2.

The perspectives of clinical level medical students on animal-assisted therapy: a study in Ghana

BACKGROUND

The role of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in complementary and alternative medicine is well acknowledged. AAT is widely patronized, in developed countries such as USA, Canada, and many European countries, but less so in developing countries in Africa including Ghana. For persons in developing African countries and elsewhere to benefit from AAT, healthcare professionals must be acquainted with it recommend it to their patients when necessary. This study therefore assessed the perspectives of clinical-level medical students on AAT.

METHOD

A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data in a cross-sectional study from 206 randomly selected clinical-level medical students of the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS (Version 26) and the results were presented in Tables and charts. The association between demographic variables and the knowledge and attitude of the students were determined using ANOVA, while bivariate Pearson's correlation was used to measure the relationships between continuous variables. Associations were considered significant when p-value < 0.05.

RESULTS

The knowledge about AAT among the medical students was very poor (0.971 ± 2.407 over 10; 9.7%); almost all of them (≈ 99.0%) had very little or no exposure to AAT in school or at home. The attitude of the students was however averagely positive (3.845 ± 0.748 over 7; 54.9%), with a perceived health benefit of ATT score of 4.768 ± 1.002 (68.1%). The motivation of the students to acquire more knowledge and skills about AAT mostly through lectures and practical sessions (70.9%) was good (4.809 ± 1.221; 68.7%). Female students were significantly more knowledgeable about AAT than their male counterparts (1.5 versus 0.6; p-value = 0.006). No other sociodemographic characteristics had any significant association with knowledge, attitude, and perception of benefit variables. However, a significant positive relationship was found to exist between the students' knowledge, attitude and perception of animal-assisted therapy (r ≥ 0.236; p-value ≤ 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We conclude that the knowledge about AAT among medical students is inadequate and this is worrying given the beneficial complementary role of AAT in achieving SDG 3. Medical schools and their regulators in Ghana should incorporate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) lessons in their training curricula. For practising medical doctors, topics on CAM should be discussed during their Continuous Professional Development sessions. With better knowledge, physicians would possibly be more willing and confident in recommending this useful complementary and alternative medicine to patients who may seek other forms of therapy besides conventional medicine or which will augment the orthodox medication the patients may have been using to treat their conditions.

Biodiversity conservation, human-animal interactions, and zootherapy in ecological knowledge of Indonesian Healers

We examined the entanglement of biodiversity conservation, human-animal interactions, zootherapy, and local beliefs among Sumatran Healers and their local community by completing an ethnography of 43 Indigenous Healers across 8 tribes in Bengkulu Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Data collection tools were interviews, observations, videos, photographs, and a researcher journal. Of the 43 Healers, 30 used animals and mentioned 62 species. Of the animals identified, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List lists 34% (n = 21) as endangered, decreasing, or vulnerable, including Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), and Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). Of the 30 Healers using animals, 50% (n = 15) practiced healing with at least one endangered, decreasing, or vulnerable animal. We defined 3 personas: Healer self-persona, Healer-imposed persona, and community-imposed persona. A persona represented a group's opinions and sentiments related to Healers killing animals for medicinal purposes. Using an iterative data analysis process, we grouped the data across the 3 personas into 5 themes: ease of killing and preparing animals, emotions related to killing animals, animal value, relationship to religion, and Healers are tricksters. The complexity of merging the identities of Healers and the community within an actor-network embodies the relationality of actions, interactions, and feelings among Healers, between Healers and animals, and between Healers and the community. Conservationists should be cognizant of Healers' medicinal use of animals, views of human-animal interactions, and zootherapy from all social and emotional perspectives. The data led to defining Indigenous Healer ecological knowledge components of zootherapy, human-animal interactions, and biodiversity conservation.

Child and adolescent foraging: New directions in evolutionary research

Young children and adolescents in subsistence societies forage for a wide range of resources. They often target child-specific foods, they can be very successful foragers, and they share their produce widely within and outside of their nuclear family. At the same time, while foraging, they face risky situations and are exposed to diseases that can influence their immune development. However, children's foraging has largely been explained in light of their future (adult) behavior. Here, we reinterpret findings from human behavioral ecology, evolutionary medicine and cultural evolution to center foraging children's contributions to life history evolution, community resilience and immune development. We highlight the need to foreground immediate alongside delayed benefits and costs of foraging, including inclusive fitness benefits, when discussing children's food production from an evolutionary perspective. We conclude by recommending that researchers carefully consider children's social and ecological context, develop cross-cultural perspectives, and incorporate children's foraging into Indigenous sovereignty discourse.