Pasture-based farming systems provide multiple welfare benefits for ruminants and pigs, with outdoor access enabling natural behaviour expression that cannot be replicated indoors.
Pasture-based farming systems provide welfare benefits that reflect the evolutionary adaptations of farm animals to outdoor environments. Cattle that evolved as wide-ranging grazers achieve better welfare outcomes on pasture through the expression of natural grazing behaviour (which occupies 8-12 hours daily), social behaviour with herd companions, exploration of varied terrain, and contact with natural substrates. Outdoor systems reduce the prevalence of behaviours indicating frustration and boredom that are common in continually housed systems. Leg health in pigs is significantly better in outdoor systems where varied terrain provides both exercise and natural hoof wear. The welfare advantages of pasture-based systems must be managed for specific welfare challenges: weather extremes require appropriate shelter provision, parasitic disease management is more complex outdoors, and the intensification points in pasture systems - including winter housing for cattle and the lambing period for sheep - require careful attention. The overall welfare assessment of pasture-based versus indoor systems consistently favours pasture-based approaches for most welfare dimensions, providing the strongest welfare case for outdoor farming certification schemes.