Free-range pigs have access to outdoor environments that provide welfare benefits, but managing these benefits effectively requires attention to pasture quality, shelter, and rotational systems.
Outdoor access for pigs delivers genuine welfare benefits only when managed to maintain environmental quality. Statically stocked outdoor areas quickly become barren, compacted, and devoid of the rooting and foraging opportunities that make outdoor access beneficial. Rotational systems that move pigs to fresh pasture regularly maintain environmental complexity and the natural behaviors it enables. The welfare standard is not simply outdoor access but access to an environment that supports the behavioral and physical needs of the species.