Nipuna Sahan Senanayake

Research Interests

• Pigs
• Outdoor production systems
• One welfare

Current Projects

Irish pig industry is highly specialized, homogenous and intensive sector. However, many people rear outdoor pigs in a variety of systems including organic, agroforestry and as a part of a mixed farming practice on a much smaller scale. Pigs outdoors have more behavioural freedoms but this may be counteracted by poorer health (e.g. parasitism) and performance (e.g. due to cold stress). Furthermore, as pigs are highly explorative, opportunistic foragers they can damage the environment (e.g. by eating or trampling young trees), albeit their presence could also improve soil health (e.g. because of their rooting behaviour).  There is little documented evidence about the optimal ways to manage, shelter and feed pigs in outdoor production systems. This project aims to characterise the welfare of pigs and their environment in different outdoor production systems while contributing to the development of a roadmap for a proportion of Irish farmers to transition to such systems.

Hailing from Sri Lanka, Nipuna has graduated in Animal Science and Fisheries and has hands on experience in Layer chicken production and Food processing. He has a strong passion towards the welfare of farm animals, and hope to extend his future research in this area.

• Publications