Table 1 Research questions that we addressed in the key-informant interviews, and the rationale behind them

Are domestic and wild hosts sharing pasture in Pin valley?

The majority of rangelands in the Western Trans-Himalayas, including Pin valley, are co-grazed (Bhatnagar 1997; Bagchi et al. 2004). This can lead not only to resource competition but also disease transmission. Being restricted to grazing around villages, local livestock are unlikely to share pasture with wild hosts.

What is the GIN burden and impact on host health?^a

Due to increasing herd sizes and limited veterinary care/interventions, we predict that migratory livestock have substantial health issues, in particular that they have high GIN burdens.

How do current livestock holdings compare to those of 20 years ago?

Herd sizes of migratory livestock have been increasing across regions of the Western Trans-Himalayas (Ghoshal 2017) and we expect to find the same pattern in our study area. Resident livestock have seen major declines in the region due to a number of social and political factors (Singh et al. 2015).

What are the current reasons for undertaking the long-distance migration, is it likely to persist and what governs leasing of pasture?

Long-distance migrations occur for multi-faceted ecological and social reasons, many of which are likely to persist into the future (Ghoshal 2017). Therefore, we expect migration to continue.

What is the current state of the pasture quality in Pin valley and how has it changed over time?

There is evidence of increasing pasture degradation across the Western Trans-Himalayan rangelands (Mishra et al. 2001; Bagchi et al. 2004). Pasture degradation can impact resource competition and disease transmission. Degradation and transmission both have a common cause in high livestock stocking rates. Degradation adds to the problem of disease through nutritional stress and resource competition (Kock 2004)—which can exacerbate the impacts of GINs.