The Development of Veterinary Anthropology: Between Application and Interpretation

Abstract

This paper explores the development of veterinary anthropology as a subfield of anthropology that focuses on issues of animal health and disease within human societies and cultures. Emerging in the late 1970s in the United States, initially through ethnoveterinary research and development, it was supported by programs such as the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR-CRSP) and the Niger Range and Livestock Project (NRL). It arose from the need to integrate the perspectives and expertise of anthropologists and veterinarians in the study of local practices, technologies, resources, and belief systems related to the cultural and social contexts in which animal healthcare occurs within livestock production systems.

The term veterinary anthropology was first proposed by Solod and Knight in the early 1980s and was further developed by Constance McCorkle, who introduced a holistic approach within the existing framework of ethnoveterinary research and development. This included the application of theory and practical knowledge to improve livestock health and productivity in developing countries.

The emergence of new infectious diseases such as Ebola, SARS, H5N1, and BSE, along with the ensuing public health crises, stimulated renewed collaboration between anthropologists and veterinarians. This led to the formulation of a new research field initially labeled the anthropology of zoonoses (2015), which, by 2016, was reintegrated into the broader scope of veterinary anthropology through engagement with the concept of One Health, marking the formal rebirth of this subdiscipline. Beyond interdisciplinary collaboration between veterinarians and anthropologists, this subdiscipline examines the social implications of animal diseases and health perspectives through contemporary anthropological approaches, including structuralism, ontology in human-animal relations studies, and multispecies ethnography. Research perspectives have become increasingly globalized, with fieldwork conducted in disease outbreak centers such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Donbas. As the field expanded, veterinary anthropology has undergone repeated re-evaluation and reflection.

Building on existing ethnographic studies of animal-borne diseases and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, the concept of veterinary humanities was introduced in Vienna in 2020 as an expanded field of inquiry, bringing together scholars from animal studies, animal welfare, veterinary science, multispecies anthropology, medical anthropology, and the anthropology of ethics.

The most recent framework positions veterinary anthropology as a philosophical reflection on human–animal relations, developed in collaboration with veterinarians while simultaneously interrogating their roles in those relationships.

In less than half a century, veterinary anthropology has transformed from an applied discipline into a science field that challenges established norms and veterinary practices in search of new responses and innovative solutions that account for the well-being of both animals and humans.