Emotional Stress in Livestock Animals
by Seema
Bhattessa
Emotions of animals are part of their psychological state and can be
compromised as a result of many environmental factors such as intensive
farming practices, extreme weather conditions, breeding. Furthermore, emotional
stress can compromise their immune system leaving them vulnerable to illness
and disease and prolong any existing health problems they may already have.
Emotional stress can often be seen as behavioural, mood and temperament
changes such as restlessness, lethargy. Long term, stress can affect internal
body functions, and processes of individual animals, as well as compromising
the immune system it can adversely affect other body systems of the animal
such as the nervous, circulatory, digestive and hormonal.
The physical health of livestock animals is treated but the emotional
needs and psychological well- being of an animal are not always addressed
and can take its’ toll on livestock herds and individual animals and from
an economic viewpoint, stress in livestock yields inferior quality to the
produce.
It is important to intervene and consider ways of managing their stress
and emotional health because it is not only in the interest of the animals
themselves , but we owe it to them as their guardians and custodians to
improve the quality of their life no matter how short it may be in the
livestock farming process.
How we can help manage stress and improve emotional welfare of livestock?
Besides re-examining and improving farming practices such as diet,
environmental hygiene, non-confinement of animals and handling, there is
another approach that offers enormous potential to improve livestock stress
and emotional welfare as well as supporting and strengthening their immune
system using “innate animal self-medication behaviour” also known as animal
self-healing behaviour or zoopharmacognosy.
This is an evolutionary survival strategy of how all vertebrate animals
restore and manage their own health as they would in the wild. What is
more, domestic and livestock animals still retain this innate ability which
is a safe practice and withstood the test of time.
A facilitated approach to this method has been well demonstrated and
proven in domestic animals and shown to be effective for improving physical
illness and emotional stress such as trauma, fear phobia, anxiety.
This holistic approach to livestock health is more in keeping with nature
and gives back to the animal some control of its own health as a curative
or preventative approach. One example of this innate animal self-medication
behaviour that livestock farmers are very familiar with is allowing livestock
access to a salt lick in the field on a self-selection basis.
Innate self-medication and healing behaviour is based on two key
concepts:
First, all vertebrate animals have co-evolved with plants and other
organic components of nature’s pharmacy and have enough knowledge of their
own immune responses and vulnerability to disease states and relate with
their natural environment in a variety of ways to maintain their life force
and survival.
Secondly, they have evolved with highly developed sensory systems and
interpret their territory as sights, sounds, smells, tastes and emotion.
This wealth of accumulated innate knowledge and well developed sensory
systems enables animals to identify and utilize natural healing sources
in their environment that are effective in maintaining and restoring their
own physical and psychological (emotional) health.
It is well documented that free roaming animals self-medicate and heal
using secondary metabolites (the plants natural healing agents) from medicinal
and aromatic plants – some toxic, along with soils, clays and charcoal
and will utilize them in a variety of ways such as inhaling, consuming,
as well as using external remedies, such as back-rolling to expose themselves
to a variety of treatments.
Supporting evidence for innate animal self-medication and healing
behaviour:
Plant secondary metabolites often self -selected by animals are known
and used in both human and animal pharmaceuticals for their health giving
therapeutic properties that include supporting the immune system, have
antibacterial, antiviral and antiparasitic properties and help promote
the body’s own healing mechanisms. These secondary metabolites are widely
used in ethno veterinary medicine which also supports their use and effective
health benefits.
Companion and equine animals that have been rescued or abused has benefited
enormously from the facilitated approach of this concept of innate animal
self-healing behaviour which not only serves as a natural tool for post-traumatic
stress, anxiety issues and related behaviours but their physical health
too.
This natural method to animal health and welfare with rescued animals
has shown to be consistently effective and addressing the emotional support
the animal may be in need of and proven to help animals overcome their
emotional pain and experiences.
Health benefits and the way forward in managing livestock welfare:
They say the best way to help an animal is to help the animal help
itself. Due to human intervention, livestock animals, unlike their wild
counterparts do not have access to nature’s pharmacy and denied the opportunity
to have some control of its own health and emotional welfare. Livestock
farmers who add vitamin and mineral supplements to animal feeds, and while
this is done with careful knowledge, it still may not be the natural choice
of the animal.
Herds and individual animals that appear stressed or traumatised could
benefit from a facilitated approach of this innate self-healing behaviour
, in particular, natural remedies with known calming and stress relieving
properties would help them to remain calm in everyday situations that may
otherwise cause them to be stressed. What's more, secondary metabolites
from medicinal and aromatic plants can help enhance and support the animals’
natural healing processes and immune systems, improving existing health
and providing protection against disease.
This facilitated approach would allow livestock safe access to natural
remedies they innately recognise and an opportunity to utilize on a self-selection
basis. This approach is intended to broaden the idea of livestock health,
rather than replace traditional professional veterinary care.
There is no risk of the remedies contaminating produce with harmful
residues like some conventional antibiotics, and because the animals never
become resistant to the therapy it will continue to be effective from one
generation to the next.
Reasons to consider innate animal self-healing:
• Valuable contribution towards improving livestock health and welfare
management
• Assists livestock to cope with environmental stressors
• Environmental enrichment: Provide a calm balanced emotional state
and environment
• Helps reduce the anxiety and stress of animals being intensively
farmed
• Cost effective in the long term health of livestock
• Valuable contribution in the control and management of animal diseases
transferable to the human population
• Strengthens animals immune system reducing vulnerability to infection
or advanced disease states
• Reduce the need for antibiotics
• Improves quality of produce
.
Innate animal self-healing behaviour can be a turnkey tool for reducing
the effects of stress, trauma and anxieties in livestock at all stages
from birth to the end of life, as well as supporting and strengthening
the immune system.
This long forgotten innate animal knowledge offers safe, natural solution
to our current livestock health and emotional welfare problems both now
and in the future.
Seema Bhattessa holds a B.S. Hons. Degree in Pharmacy from the University
of London, a Diploma in Zoopharmacognosy , as well as other animal relevant
qualifications. She currently resides in the greater London area, where
she owns and operates Innate-Scents Animal Therapy and Zoo Pharma Consulting
(http://www.zpconsulting.co.uk/),
while independently researching the benefits of Zoopharmacognosy on sustaining
wildlife health and conservation, as well as connecting the research to
other scientific disciplines. www.innate-scents.co.uk
Stressed Pets in the Recession: How we can
Help Heal and Support Them?
by Seema
Bhattessa
Animals are widely used in AAT (Animal Assisted Therapies) to help people
overcome past traumatic and stressful experiences, emotional, social and
mental impairment. Pets assist us in our healing process, support out emotional
needs and help us feel loved, relaxed and more peaceful. But what
can we do to help support their emotional state and overcoming their experiences
of trauma, stress?
The recession has taken its’ toll on our pets at an alarming rate. As
some pet owners are finding it increasingly difficult to feed and care
for their animals and are giving their pets to rescue and adoption centres
which are already struggling to cope with the ever increasing arrival of
abandoned and unwanted animals. However, some are not so fortunate and
many pets are being simply abandoned or dumped to face their own fate.
Some pet owners are having to relocate or downsize their living accommodation
in an attempt to meet the ever increasing costs of living and are unable
to take their pets with them. Others are having to work for longer hours
in the financial struggle to keep their animals which can mean their pets
are left alone for longer periods of time.
Like us, animals respond to stressful and traumatic experiences in much
the same way as we do and they cannot verbalise their emotional pain in
a way we understand. Animals with “Post Traumatic Stress” (PTS), anxiety
and emotional pain can be the result from neglect, abuse, abandonment,
grief and separation from their animal companions and owners, often seen
as behavioural changes. Even changes in their daily routine, their home
environment or family unit, can cause a degree of distress and anxiety
or when left alone or confined for long periods of time. In the long term,
an animals’ emotional trauma, stress and anxiety can lead to a weakened
immune system and illness.
What is more, animals are known to reflect the emotional state of their
owners. So, if you are feeling stressed or anxious there is a very good
chance the animals you live with will connect with your emotional energy
and are likely to be feeling and sharing this with you. Often, an animals’
stress, anxiety or traumatic emotional state can be seen as behavioural
changes such as depression, timidity, biting, aggression or other destructive
behaviours. For some animals the slightest change in their environment
such as loud noise can be enough to trigger a response to their traumatic
and stressful experience long after the event actually took place.
Such behavioural changes in traumatised and stressed pets can make it
difficult for animal rescue centres to rehabilitate and re-home them later
and some pet owners have difficulty coping with these behavioural changes
on a daily basis and sometimes the reason for giving them up for adoption.
What can be done to help support an animals’ emotional state and overcoming
their experiences of trauma or stress?
Animals can't communicate their needs with us in a way we understand
but they do however have an in-built innate knowledge of how to heal themselves,
they just need a little more help from us besides love and veterinary care.
Self-healing therapies such as “Olfaction” or smell therapy and Energy
healing using Reiki and Spiritual healing are just some of the ways we
can offer them the emotional support they may be in need of, to process
their emotional trauma and anxiety, move on and trust again.
“Olfaction” or Smell therapy (also known as zoopharmacognosy)
This method utilizes the physiological and emotional innate responses
of animals to improve both their physical and emotional welfare. The effects
of olfaction therapy on people has been widely researched and investigated
by the perfumery industry, as most of us are aware that different scents
and odours can influence one’s emotional response and behaviour. Olfaction
to treat post -traumatic stress is also well demonstrated by scientists
in USA by recreating the smell of Ground Zero as a desensitization therapy
for the affected survivors.
The wild relatives of our pets have evolved with a powerful, innate
healing sense and highly developed senses, in particular sense of smell,
which allows them to utilize plants and other features of the natural world
to maintain their own health physical and psychological health. By
enabling our pets to exercise this innate skill away from the wild is a
crucial step in healing their emotional welfare, allowing them to self-
select scents and natural wild remedies they are familiar with. This approach
helps them to connect with positive, healthy feelings, give them back a
measure of the confidence they may have lost, reduces anxiety, offers them
emotional support and assists with their emotional release and helps correct
any trauma related behaviour and responses.
Offering a bonding and more trusting experience between new and existing
owners and their animals is another benefit of this therapy as well as
stimulating the immune system, the most important tool an animal has in
combating the onset of illness.One example of a case study was that of
a 6year old male Bull Terrier dog with a fear phobia of noises.
He was rescued by his current owner at the age of about 18 months old.
The dog had a history of having had fireworks thrown at him one evening
which left him with a severe case of noise phobia that was so extreme that
he would panic at the slightest noises such as rain on a window and developed
a fear of the dark. This phobia almost threatened his own life when on
one occasion; during a thunderstorm he walked through a glass cabinet in
an attempt to escape the noise.
Using Olfaction self-healing therapy the dog self-selected remedies
for five days which included Sandalwood, Vetiver, Neroli and Lavender,
which were indicated for anxiety, obsessive worry, nurturing and comforting
and offered a sense of peace and calm. On day 5 the smoke alarm accidentally
went off in the house and the owner’s concern was the dog's reaction. Immediately,
the owner walked into the room where she had left him and was amazed to
find him lying on his bed, fully awake and did not even raise his head
to acknowledge her presence. The owner had never seen him react so calmly.
Energy Healing
Natural Energy self-healing therapy that includes Reiki or Spiritual
healing, is a non-invasive ancient therapy that has stood the test of time
and offers another method of assisting animals in promoting self-healing
on all levels, bringing more balance and harmony to the animal and giving
a sense of well –being, calm and acceptance. Energy healing can address
a variety of issues, it can increase positive outcomes with a range of
conditions on all levels, physical, emotional and behavioural issues, helping
them to release any anxieties, worry or stress. Animals are very sensitive
to energies and respond to energy healing far more readily than we do.
Energy healing utilizes invisible energy systems that exist around and
through an animals’ body and include the auras, chakras and meridians which
can affect the emotional, physical and spiritual energy systems of the
body. These energy systems are very responsive to environmental changes
and can affect animals’ emotional state (as well as physical). Universal
energy is channelled through the hands of the practitioner to balance and
harmonise the animals’ energy field and this channelled healing energy
goes to wherever it is needed in the body to assist the self-healing process
of the body on all levels.
Pets of all species and rescued animals can benefit enormously from
self-healing therapies such as these which not only serve as a natural
tool for post-traumatic stress, anxiety issues and related behaviours but
their physical health too. My work and experience of working with rescued
animals has been consistently effective and because this approach to natural
animal care addresses the emotional support the animal may be in need of
and proven to help animals overcome their emotional pain and experiences
and learning to trust and bond with people again.
For more information on animal self-healing therapies please visit
www.innate-scents.co.uk
Email: info@innate-scents.co.uk
Article written by Seema Bhattessa
© Copyright Innate-Scents 2011
This communication may contain
privileged or confidential information protected by legal rules. It is
solely for the use of the intended recipient named above. Any review, dissemination,
distribution, forwarding, or copying of this communication by someone other
than the intended recipient, or the employee responsible for delivering
this communication to the intended recipient, is prohibited without prior
agreement. by Seema Bhattessa. All Rights Reserved.
Seema Bhattessa holds a B.S. Hons. Degree in Pharmacy from the University
of London, a Diploma in Zoopharmacognosy , as well as other animal relevant
qualifications. She currently resides in the greater London area, where
she owns and operates Innate-Scents Animal Therapy and Zoo Pharma Consulting
(http://www.zpconsulting.co.uk/),
while independently researching the benefits of Zoopharmacognosy on sustaining
wildlife health and conservation, as well as connecting the research to
other scientific disciplines. www.innate-scents.co.uk
Zoopharmacognosy: Its’ Impact on Our Natural
World, Agriculture, our Survival and the Planet
by Seema
Bhattessa
Terrestrial animals use their environment for nutrition such as fats,
carbohydrates, proteins (also known as primary metabolites), what is now
emerging, gaining more attention and importance, is how terrestrial vertebrates
utilize their environment as a source of medicine. In particular, plant
secondary metabolites (PSM’s) which are produced exclusively by plants
to protection against pests, as scent, colouring or attractants and as
the plants’ own hormones. They have no nutritional value and are only selected
by animals in small quantities when they are in need of them.
This innate behaviour of animal species is intentional for either their
health maintenance, health restoration in the presence of illness or disease
or as a preventative health strategy. Co-evolution of terrestrial vertebrates
and plants has enabled animals have accumulated enough innate knowledge
of their own immune responses and vulnerability to disease states and able
to identify remedial or medicinal plant sources within their natural environment.
Wild and free roaming animals that have been exposed and had access
to nature’s pharmacy, enables them to locate and utilize their environmental
medicine as a survival strategy. This innate animal behaviour is known
as Zoopharmacognosy and is a survival tool still practiced today by wildlife
and free roaming species from large animals to pollinating insects, birds
and reptiles.
Livestock, domestic animals and even our pets that do not normally have
access to nature’s remedies, can still call on this innate sense, and
will utilize plant secondary metabolites when they are in need of them,
as an innate response to restore their own health in the presence
of physical and illness, disease, and emotional trauma. Animals use their
highly developed senses to locate and identify their remedies in their
environment and will utilize them in a variety of ways such as inhaling,
consuming, in their dens and nest building, as well as using external remedies,
such as back-rolling to expose themselves to a variety of treatments.
Principles of zoopharmacognosy are based on well-developed sensory systems,
in particular the olfactory (smell) system, because essential behaviours
governing daily life, such as mate-seeking, environmental mapping, food
locating and communication, are all dependent on olfactory cues.
This, combined with an evolutionarily innate response by the body to meet
its own physiological needs, means animals have selected diets to meet
their nutritional needs and have found solutions to their medicinal needs.
This pattern of selection and problem solving is based on sensitivity to
the environment, and instincts about what is beneficial for survival.
When wild animals “self-medicate” with plants for example, they
are detecting aromas of in the smell of these sources but are also known
to utilize soil minerals and structural compounds naturally occurring in
bark, grasses, minerals, algae and other organic sources in their environment.
PSM’s have a number of protective functions on the body, they can
bolster the efficacy of their body’s immune system which helps reduce vulnerability
to infection or advanced disease states, offer protection from free radicals
and effective against pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungus and parasites.
Interestingly, zoopharmacognosy and animals’ selections of botanical
remedies shares some common ground with indigenous medicinal plant knowledge
as well as some of our own traditional medicine still used today. Historically,
farmers used “nursery fields” grown primarily with a range of healing and
aromatic plants where sick livestock were allocated to restore their own
health, guided only by their innate sense and well developed olfactory
(smell) system.
So what are the implications and benefits of zoopharmacognosy? The potential
and benefits of zoopharmacognosy are huge, particularly in sustaining and
managing wildlife, agriculture, ecosystems, livestock and animal health
and can help reduce the industrial impact on the environment, establishing
a more synergistic relationship between humans and nature. For animal survival,
plant resources containing PSM’s and other environmental remedies may be
as important as food resources and predator distribution. Dwindling environmental
sources of PSM’s could play a key role in contributing to the disappearance
of some of our wildlife and honeybees. It may also be an important factor
in the increase of diseases transferable between animals and people (Zoonotic
diseaseas) that we have witnessed in recent years and that have threatened
and taken its toll on our own health, businesses and economies, such as
Avian flu, BSE in cattle and more recently Swine flu.
Understanding zoopharmacognosy behaviours can help define associations
of individual vertebrate animals with various plant species, enabling us
to better understand the unexpected and unusual migratory and breeding
patterns, as well as the survival rates of wildlife, captive zoo
and re-released wild animals. Indeed, analysis of such associations
can help predict more suitable locations for animals with essential botanical
needs.
Zoopharmacognosy behaviour can provide a more natural and cost-effective
approach to the health of our livestock and sustaining our wildlife in
their natural habitat. Providing nature’s wild remedies in the design of
our agricultural farms, gardens, captive animal enclosures and habitats
such as zoos and wildlife reserves, can benefit the health and well being
of the individual animals themselves, as would a variety of conservation
efforts.
Associations between animal species, and environmental sources for health
maintenance, is more in design with nature and other characteristics of
the land for and offers huge potential in:
• preserving biological diversity and environmental systems
• can be a valuable contribution towards creating stable agricultural
ecosystems
• can contribute as indicators for ecological networks beyond
that of food webs and environmental change assessments
• Offers another tool in restoring fragile or damaged habitats, helping
the wilderness re-establish itself
• In sustaining the long term health of our livestock, in disease prevention
by empowering the animals themselves to strengthen their immune systems
and resisting disease in the first instance, as well as reducing the severity
of symptoms should they occur
• As possible indicators for wildlife and environmental conservation
and management.
Healing of animals and the environment is not a goal but a process and
would benefit from zoopharmacognosy as part of that process. The consequent
effect on associated animal species remains unknown as long as the true
relationship with PSM’s and other wild remedies remains under examined.
Article written by Seema
Bhattessa
www.innate-scents.co.uk
www.zpconsulting.co.uk
Depression
and grieving in pets - natural remedies to help your depressed animal
How
Your Absence Affects Your Pet Settling separation anxiety and related
behaviors
Stress
Relief Pet Your pets live in the same stressful world that you
do
Most
Popular Life-Giving Supplements for AnimalsAnimal Health and Animal Welfare - Innate Self-Medication and Healing Behaviour
Dr.
Jones DVM - "The Truth Behind The Pet Food Recall"
Do
you have a question about holistic animal health or need assistance? 
Natural
Health for Women:
.
