Nearly two-thirds of the world’s rural poor depend on livestock as a critical component of their livelihood. Modern ethnoveterinary health delivery is not easily accessible for the rural population, who still depends on traditional medicinal practices. India has rich ethnoveterinary health traditions. Nevertheless, these practices are facing the threat of rapid erosion. The vast majority of the medicinal plants used in veterinary in India have been studied from a pharmacological point of view. These studies, although giving important insights into the local traditional ethnoveterinary medicine in terms of the therapeutical value of the plants, fail however to portray the socioeconomic impact of this form of medicine on local communities. This article aims to overcome this shortcoming by analyzing the socioeconomic and health values of medicinal plants among the rural communities in Tamil Nadu, India, as well as their role in human health.