England is a nation of small farmers and small farmholders, and whatever your diet, there’s no doubt that everyone wants to see barnyard friends enjoying good lives with proper healthcare. There are charities to help with feed and financial/healthcare.
If you eat animal foods, support small farmers who take time and care to look after animals (more expensive than factory-farmed meat, so pay more and eat beans once a week!) Another issue is overuse of antibiotics which can lead to problems of their own (experts say the main way to prevent bovine TB is better husbandry to reduce cattle-to-cattle transmission, which is why culling badgers is not the answer). Also learn about homeopathy for humans.
HAWL (Homeopathy at Wellie Level!) is a small non-profit founded by vet surgeons and homeopaths (the secretary a former army officer!). It offers in-person classes plus online courses worldwide to farmers and smallholders. Designed to help reduce antibiotic use and vet bills, the idea is to have healthier animals who are less susceptible to disease in the first place. Around for 22 years, it has so far taught over 700 professionals and animal guardians.
Homeopathy was ‘invented’ 200 years ago by medical doctor Samuel Hahnemann. It uses ‘serial diluted’ remedies that are shaked (successed) which is very different to being ‘water with a memory’ that sceptics claim. Homeopathy does not have the same interactions with herbal medicine, but always check with your vet to be sure, this is not a medical site. Also be sure medicines are ethically sourced (some remedies come from bee stings that are endangered creatures, and one even comes from the spit of a rabid dog?)
Many farmers who take the course learn so much, they decide to convert to organic farming (using these remedies may help in certification). Even if you’re a sceptic, the course includes good information on animal husbandry, which benefits your animals and reduces financial loss.
Unlike humans who can pop to the health store for a homeopathic remedy, the law says that only qualified vets can prescribe homeopathic medicine (likely a good thing). Just like you know your own dog best, farmers likely are the ones who know their animals best, so this empowers them to do good, and know when to treat homeopathically, and when to call in a farm vet. What’s interesting for animals is that obviously there is no ‘placebo effect’ (sheep do not read newspapers!)
‘King of the Flock! by Lucy Pittaway
The course is around £350 (bursaries may be available). One fan is King Charles who has used homeopathy on his Duchy Estate and is a fervant supporter of HAWL courses and books. The site includes links to homeopathic pharmacies and homeopathic vets. And testimonials from farmers who have managed to heal sheep pink eye, cattle mastitis and a poorly goat’s punctured udder. One farmer even turned to HAWL after a homeopath healed his dog, who was ill from conventional veterinary medicine. He then ‘began thinking there was something in this homeopathy lark!’
We have became dependent on pharmaceuticals to address every ailment. There is a different way. What if we could change our focus from individual symptoms to an awareness of the whole animal and their innate ability to heal? Wendy Thacher Jensen (veterinary homeopath)
does homeopathic medicine work?
One Irish farmer used homeopathic remedies for his cattle with mastitis. When they got better, he won an award for the best quality dairy milk, and is now an unconventional convert.
For humans, the most reliable clinical trials for medicine are ‘randomised controlled trials’ (‘double blind trials’). There have been over 100 published in peer-reviewed journals, showing that evidence is far greater than the placebo effect. Cambridge-educated Dr Peter Fisher (the Queen’s homeopathic physican for 17 years) worked at Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine, was consultant rheumatologistat King’s College Hospital and chaired the working group at World Health Organisation on homeopathy, until he died in a London cycling accident in 2018. Here’s his research paper.
Sceptics frequently claim there is no scientific evidence for homeopathy. This is untrue. Clinical research show it to be safe and effective for a range of conditions. Integrating homeopathy in healthcare systems is associated with improved outcomes, less use of drugs and economic benefits. Dr Peter Fisher
