Outdoor pig production provides dramatically better welfare outcomes than intensive indoor systems, but managing outdoor pigs well requires skill and commitment to avoid its own welfare pitfalls.
Outdoor production allows pigs to exhibit the full behavioural repertoire their intelligence and physiology demand: rooting, wallowing, foraging, playing, and self-selecting their resting locations. The welfare difference from intensive indoor units is dramatic. But outdoor production is not automatically high-welfare: during extreme heat, shade provision is essential; during wet winters, poaching (mudlogging) must be managed; parasites require targeted rather than blanket treatment. The best outdoor producers combine excellent stockpersonship with responsive management that protects animal welfare across all seasons.