Ethnozoological Study of Animals and Animal Products Used as Traditional Medicine by Indigenous Community of the Dangur District in Metekel Zone, Western Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, numerous ethnic groups rely on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. Nonetheless, indigenous ethnozoological medicinal practices are being overlooked and are progressively disappearing due to inadequate documentation, as they are transmitted from one generation to the next via oral tradition. Thus, this ethnozoological research sought to evaluate and record the therapeutic use of animals and animal‐derived products employed by traditional healers and the local population of the Dangur district in the Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia. A cross‐sectional ethnozoological study was carried out employing a semistructured questionnaire among intentionally chosen five farmers’ associations in the Dangur district between October 2021 and January 2022. The ethnozoological information was examined using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The fidelity level, use‐value, preference ranking, and informant consensus factor were established. A total of 39 medicinal animal species were recorded as being utilized for the treatment of 35 different conditions. Most of the animals, 22 (56.41%), were mammals, while 5 (12.82%) were arthropods, 5 (12.82%) were birds, and 5 (12.82%) were reptiles. In addition, a majority of these species, 32 (82.05%), were wild animals, whereas the other 7 (17.95%) were domesticated animals. Meat, at 415 (33.74%), was recognized as the most frequently utilized animal product, followed by liver at 124 (10.08%) and milk at 114 (9.27%). Consequently, the ICF values ranged from 0.937 to 1. Hepatitis and Kwashiorkor exhibited the highest ICF values of 1 and 0.981, respectively, while rheumatism and tuberculosis had the lowest ICF value at 0.938. This research showed the extensive use of medicinal animals and their components/products to address the primary healthcare requirements of the community in the examined area. Consequently, this ethnozoological medicinal wisdom must be combined with contemporary medicine to harness animals and their byproducts as a possible source of effective treatments for multiple conditions.