Pigs with outdoor access demonstrate significantly better welfare outcomes than fully confined animals, yet outdoor pork represents a small fraction of production.
Access to outdoor environments transforms pig welfare by enabling a suite of natural behaviors impossible in indoor systems: rooting in varied substrates, dust bathing, exploring changing environments, and expressing curiosity. Research consistently shows outdoor pigs exhibit more positive behavioral indicators and lower chronic stress than confined counterparts. However, outdoor systems carry their own welfare challenges including weather exposure, predation, and disease transmission that require good management.