History of animal homeopathy
History of animal homeopathy
Animal homeopathy is not new. Here is a brief summary.
In 1833 , the German veterinarian, Guillaume Lux, had the idea of trying homeopathy on animals. He was so successful that several other veterinarians followed him in his experimentation.
In 1835 , Schmager, a German veterinarian, wrote a directory of remedies for treating cows, sheep, dogs, etc. Useful reference for farmers who could now care for their animals themselves.
In 1836 : 188 remedies already proven for horse diseases (Dr FA Gunther)
In 1886 : 1st homeopathic veterinary manual in the United States (Humphreys)
In 1892 : in Paris, writing of the “New Manual of Homeopathic Veterinary Medicine” by FA Gunther and Prost Lacuzon.
In 1926 in Leipzig, Germany: Willmar Schwabe created a directory of more than 1000 symptoms.
In 1953 , Plantureux at the Pasteur Institute in Algiers obtained cures in cases of declared rabies and published the results of his research in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine of Lyon and Toulouse.
For more than 70 years, numerous doctoral theses in clinical veterinary medicine have been devoted to animal homeopathy.
Decline after the Second World War
The entry into play of pharmaceuticals, antibiotics and cortisone and their rapid results in acute cases means that interest in homeopathy diminishes; we believe in the eradication of diseases by these drugs. It is also the beginning of the socio-economic (profitable and industrial) domination of a bio-medical physicochemical approach to disease rather than to the health of humans, like that of animals.
The major blow came from the publication of the Flexner report in 1910, which seriously contributed to the disappearance of the use of homeopathy.
“This report recognized and authorized the social domination of a scientific medicine oriented on a physicochemical and pathological approach to the human body as well as on research in which biological sciences and laboratory training became the foundation of medical knowledge (positivist, or scientific medicine). So all medical schools that did not adopt this model were eventually eliminated. (…) For example, forty-six medical schools in the United States were closed, including those training women and the black community, including at least 20 colleges and universities where homeopathic medicine was taught. Thus, after 1910, only around fifteen establishments remained and most eventually converted into allopathic schools or closed their doors altogether. (…) Only two were still teaching homeopathy in 1923.” [1]
The consequences of the industrialization of the agricultural world
Care becomes more medicalized and the veterinarian, the expert. Animal production is becoming medicalized. Antibiotics invade animal care and feeding, especially in “mass” food production and large livestock farms.
However, by 1940, the emergence of resistant bacteria was a fact. Antimicrobials (AMs) are natural or synthetic substances capable of killing microorganisms or preventing their growth. Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobial used to treat infections caused by bacteria. These are administered in small doses in food to prevent the growth of bacteria: good and so-called bad too. Bacteria that are not destroyed often become resistant to these AMs.
The finding: almost 80% of all antibiotics used in Canada are administered to animals, mainly as growth promoters and disease prevention and treatment.
Since DNA sequencing in early 2000, we now know the importance of the microbiota and the microbial ecosystem; its disruption and depletion are responsible for chronic inflammatory diseases, and the abuse of antibiotics causes immune weakening and diseases linked to antibiotic resistance. It is therefore without real surprise that, from the 1980s-90s, the development of problems that are more chronic than acute and the resistance of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and mycoplasma occurs in industrial agro-sanitary practices.
Over the past fifteen years, a new awareness and interest have been developing for practices better adapted to private farms, to consumers' demand for quality and safety.
WHO: Health for all, including that of animals: the fight against antibiotic resistance
In 2017, a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) called for antibiotics to no longer be used as growth promoters in pigs and chickens. In fact, antibiotic resistance causes the deaths of 700,000 people (2018) per year on the planet. Hence the urgency to react.
The cry of alarm launched by the WHO was heard by Health Canada (Veterinary Products section) which opened the door to less invasive approaches for maintaining animal health and public health. This decision allowed Labo Solidago to offer homeopathic products that have been tested for more than 30 years.
Did you know that : Many veterinarians integrate homeopathy into their veterinary care in Quebec?
REFERENCE: [1] Taillefer, A. (2009 ) Medical and social impact of consultation in homeopathic medicine among mothers: a question of paradigm , Master's thesis in sociology, Montreal, University of Quebec in Montreal, p. 331