Luca van Dijk

Project Title: Investigations into health and welfare aspects of intra-community trade of Irish dairy calves

Overview: Luca is looking at the welfare of unweaned dairy calves transported via road and sea to the European continent. A considerable proportion of Irish-born male dairy calves journey to other EU countries for finishing. This project aims to address the knowledge gaps in this area. In order to assess the welfare of these calves, Luca will gather a combination of physiological and behavioural data during simulated and “real” journeys. This data will be used to identify specific practices or conditions that have either beneficial or deleterious effects on the welfare of the calves. Luca will also investigate the use of non-invasive sensor technology to monitor health and welfare indicators in calves. 

Luca grew up in The Netherlands and spent several years working in intensive and extensive farming operations in Europe and Australia. Before starting her PhD at Teagasc, Luca completed her Master’s degree at Wageningen University where she studied automatic methods to detect disease in veal calves.

Programme Area: Animal & Bioscience Department

Supervisors: Niamh Field, Muireann Conneely and Gearoid Sayers

Funding Source: Teagasc