Outdoor pig systems provide significant welfare advantages over indoor systems when well-managed. The welfare benefits of rooting, social management, and space are substantial.
Outdoor pig welfare advantages are real but conditional on good land management. Outdoor systems at appropriate stocking densities on well-managed land provide near-ideal conditions for pig behavioral welfare. However, overstocked outdoor systems on degraded land can produce worse welfare outcomes than well-managed indoor alternatives. The outdoor label requires management quality assessment to deliver welfare promises.