Outdoor access for pigs allows expression of the full range of natural behaviours including rooting, wallowing, and foraging — producing measurable welfare improvements.
Outdoor access for pigs transforms their welfare in ways that indoor systems struggle to replicate. Soil provides the rooting substrate pigs need; wallowing areas provide cooling; varied terrain engages exploratory motivation; natural foraging supplements diet with behavioural satisfaction. These are not luxuries but expressions of what pigs evolved to do. Outdoor access does introduce management challenges around parasites, predation, and weather, but the net welfare benefit is strongly positive when these are managed appropriately.