Outdoor access for pigs provides opportunities for natural behaviours including rooting, wallowing, and exploration that cannot be replicated indoors. Well-managed outdoor systems offer significant welfare advantages over fully indoor production.
Outdoor access for pigs addresses fundamental welfare needs that indoor systems cannot meet. The opportunity to root in soil, wallow in mud, and explore a complex environment represents a qualitative welfare improvement over fully indoor systems. The evidence from behavioural science supports outdoor access as welfare-enhancing rather than merely a marketing preference. Nose ringing in outdoor systems is a welfare compromise that should be minimised or eliminated through appropriate stocking management that makes ringing unnecessary.