The ethnomedicinal use of vultures by traditional health practitioners in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

African traditional medicine contributes to greater healthcare coverage by providing primary healthcare to rural dwellers, who often have limited access to modern medical services. However, the prevalence of traditional medicine use has been reported to put pressure on biological resources upon which it relies. Indigenous people have identified many wild animals as possessing curative properties. The use of animals and their body parts as ingredients in traditional medicine is often poorly regulated and therefore represents a major challenge for biodiversity conservation. We investigated traditional health practitioners’ ethnomedicinal use of vultures in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 traditional health practitioners from two district municipalities. Data collected were analysed through qualitative and quantitative methodologies. We documented seven parts of the vulture that traditional health practitioners used in KwaZulu-Natal. When the Use Value (UV) index was calculated for each part, the head obtained the highest (0.92). Consensus on parts and their uses was generally low across the study group. Of the 21 uses reported for vulture parts, 71% were spiritual-based. The participants were aware of the hunting of vultures through the use of poison but demonstrated different views about the risks associated with using such material. Overall, our findings confirm the increasing use of African vultures in traditional medicine. Raising awareness and upscaling the active involvement of traditional health practitioners in natural resource management may benefit vulture conservation and that of other species commonly used in belief-based practices.