A qualitative study exploring concepts and attitudes of guinea pig producers in rural parishes of Pichincha, Ecuador: The need for a one health-one welfare approach to enhance production practices

With its compact size, resilience at high altitudes, and high feed efficiency, the guinea pig (<i>Cavia porcellus</i>) is a sustainable and high-quality protein option for people in resource restrictive areas of South America's Andean region. Each year in Ecuador, 47 million guinea pigs, destined for sale or household consumption, are produced. Despite the reported presence and anticipated growth of guinea pig production in the region, husbandry standards in this industry have not been fully documented. A qualitative study was conducted to explore the thoughts, attitudes, and practices of guinea pig producers in three rural parishes of Pichincha, Ecuador regarding guinea pig production, health, and welfare. During October-December 2024, a focus group was held in each parish with discussion including the basic principles of animal production and husbandry (i.e., breeding, feeding, treatment, preventative activities, euthanasia). Focus group transcripts underwent thematic analysis. Inductive codes were identified via an iterative open coding process with two independent coders, until a unifying theme was identified. Nineteen guinea pig producers participated across the three focus groups. A One Health approach was identified as the primary domain under which the identified themes fell. The main unifying theme mapped back to the concepts of traditional and modern medicine. The rural Ecuadorian guinea pig producers included in this study implement a combination of traditional and modern medicine and production practices to ensure the humane production of this species. When developing and implementing future studies and educational programs, researchers, veterinarians, and agricultural educators should consider blending these two strategies to ensure the industry can improve in a One Health-One Welfare way.