Acknowledging the potential role of animal self-medication

Kurzfassung

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Much research on animal health and welfare assumes that animals passively endure the pathogens, diet, and environmental conditions that come their way. Natural selection however has honed behavioural strategies for optimising health. Some of these involve the selection of ‘medicines’ to modulate health. Although it is not yet known to what extent domestic species retain the ability to self-medicate, it is vital that researchers acknowledge the potential role such behaviour might play when designing research protocols