Veterinary anthropology: the impact of animal studies on medical sciences

Over the last 5 years, the sub-discipline of veterinary anthropology has emerged in the wake of ethnographic and historical studies on zoonotic diseases, such as avian influenza, swine fever, rabies and the plague. Veterinary anthropology has been partly informed by Science and technology studies, and this paper aims to promote even closer synergy between these fields by engaging two pivotal questions: How is the body of veterinary knowledge generated? How does it travel from the centres of scientific knowledge production into bodies of normative practices nested in geographical, socio-cultural and political contexts?

Addressing the possible avenues of veterinary anthropology’s future development we argue for a field that would pursue a twofold mission of producing analytical understanding of social ramifications of veterinary expertise while simultaneously facilitating interdisciplinary shift towards efficient use of anthropology’s methodological and conceptual tools for the ultimate goal of veterinary medicine: animal and human health.