World Wildlife Day is a UN International day created to celebrate the beauty and diversity of all wild plants and animals and the contribution they make to our well-being.1

An over-looked area of homeopathic research is the ongoing work by scientists exploring the role homeopathy may be able to play in wildlife veterinary medicine.

A growing number of clinical studies have shown benefits of homeopathic treatment in Magellanic penguins, cared for in a zoological park in Brazil. Homeopathic medicines have been used to treat important clinical complications which commonly occur in penguins living in such an environment, including:

  • altered liver enzymes2
  • pododermatitis – a potentially life-threatening infection of the feet3
  • immunological stress during reproduction4, and
  • elevated plasma uric acid levels related to abnormal kidney function5.

As randomised clinical trials are clearly not feasible on most wild animals, high quality case studies are considered the best method for documenting individual experiences and assessing the potential benefit of homeopathy in treating wildlife. They present verifiable, objective details and are able to formally assess the likelihood of a link between treatment and outcome6, making their findings a valuable part of the veterinary evidence base.

For example, a recent high quality case study has shown the beneficial impact of homeopathic treatment for stalled folliculogenesis (decreased reproductive function) in two ball pythons.7

Homeopathic wildlife veterinarians in Brazil have also successfully treated:

  • Burmese pythons and a boa constrictor with pneumonia8,
  • two baby possums with hookworm infections in the gut9,
  • a puma with dysregulated estrus cycle10,
  • a maned wolf with suspected osteomyelitis after being hit by a car11,
  • a raccoon with antibiotic resistant osteomyelitis12, and
  • a sea turtle suffering from multiple tumours (fibropapillomatosis) including a growth on the cornea of the eye13.

Veterinary case studies for wildlife involve rescued animals, those injured through human activity, or those cared for by veterinarians in zoological parks. They provide a useful first step in exploring how homeopathy may be able to support the health and well-being of these animals.

It is encouraging to see the growing trend in homeopathy research towards the use of the latest high quality case reporting methods,14 following agreed reporting guidelines15, in both animals and humans, enabling individual experiences of homeopathic treatment in all species to be turned into meaningful ‘real world’ evidence.

HRI is a UK-based charity dedicated to promoting high quality research in homeopathy at an international level.

Join us on 3rd March 2023 in celebrating World Wildlife Day.

References

  1. World Wildlife Day, 3 March 2023. https://www.wildlifeday.org/en
  2. Narita, F. and Coelho C. Control of Liver Enzymes in Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) Through Ultra-diluted Medicine. Homeopathy, 2020; 109(1): A1-A28
  3. Narita, F., et al. 2020. Homeopathic Treatment of Pododermatitis in Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus). Homeopathy, 2021; 110(1):62-66
  4. Narita, F., et al. 2022. Evaluation of the Effects of Administering Ultradiluted Avena sativa and Echinacea angustifolia on the Hematological Parameters of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) during the Reproductive Period. Homeopathy, 2022; doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1751308. Online ahead of print.
  5. Narita F., et al. Lycopodium clavatum as a homeopathic treatment in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus). Int J High Dil Res., 2022; 21(2): 23
  6. Lamb, C., et al. Evaluation of the Modified Naranjo Criteria for Assessing Causal Attribution of Clinical Outcome to Homeopathic Intervention as Presented in Case Reports. Homeopathy, 2020; 109(4): 191-197
  7. Balbueno MCdS., et al. Action of Folliculinum 6cH on Folliculogenesis in the Snake Python Regius (Shaw, 1802) – Two Case Reports. Homeopathy, 2023: doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1759847.Online ahead of print.
  8. Martins JA., et al. Arsenicum album as a treatment for pneumonia in snakes: three serial cases. Int J High Dil Res, 2022; 21(2): 23
  9. De Capitani, MG., et al. [Use of episodic homeopathics in the treatment of endoparasites in Didelphis aurita – Case report]. Annals of the XXX Meeting and XXIV Congress of the Brazilian Association of Wild Animal Veterinarians – ABRAVAS, 2022
  10. Melo, TCS., et al. [Lachesis muta and Folliculinum in the Estral Cycle Regulation of Puma (Puma concolor)]. Annals of the XXIX Meeting and XXIII Congress of the Brazilian Association of Wild Animal Veterinarians – ABRAVAS, 2021
  11. De Moraes, VP., et al. [Use of Ozoniotherapy and Homeopathy Associated in the Treatment of Suspected Osteomyelitis in Maned Wolves run over.] Annals of the XXIX Meeting and XXIII Congress of the Brazilian Association of Wild Animal Veterinarians – ABRAVAS, 2021
  12. Pedroso, AJB., et al. [Autobiotherapy for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Osteomyelitis in Raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus)]. Annals of the XXX Meeting and XXIV Congress of the Brazilian Association of Wild Animal Veterinarians – ABRAVAS, 2022
  13. Narita FB., et al. Treatment of Fibropapillomatosis in a Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Using Ultra-Diluted: Case Report. Integr J Vet Biosci, 2021; 5(3): 1-3
  14. Teut, M., et al. Case Reporting in Homeopathy – An Overview of Guidelines and Scientific Tools. Homeopathy, 2021; 110(1):2-9
  15. Van Haselen, RA. Homeopathic clinical case reports: Development of a supplement (HOM-CASE) to the CARE clinical case reporting guideline. Complement Ther Med, 2016; 25: 78-85