Outdoor and deeply-bedded indoor housing systems for pigs provide substantially better welfare than conventional indoor systems, with higher animal welfare outcomes achievable through system design that enables natural behavior expression.
Outdoor and enriched indoor housing systems demonstrate that pigs can be kept at commercially viable scales while meeting their behavioral needs for rooting, foraging, and social interaction. The welfare difference between welfare-certified outdoor production and conventional indoor systems is substantial and measurable through behavioral indicators, health outcomes, and cortisol levels. Consumers paying welfare premiums for certified products fund genuine welfare improvements for millions of pigs. The challenge is ensuring certification standards are meaningfully enforced and continuously improved rather than representing minimum compliance.