Outdoor pig production systems provide important welfare benefits through rooting behaviour, social complexity, and natural light, but also present challenges related to climate extremes, disease, and land management.
Outdoor pig systems represent a significant welfare improvement over intensive indoor housing for many aspects of pig wellbeing. Rooting, exploration, and social behaviour are more naturally expressed outdoors. However, outdoor pigs face thermal challenges in extreme weather without adequate shelter, and parasitic disease burdens can be higher. Quality outdoor systems provide hardwood arks or huts for shelter, shade, and access to clean water, while managing land rotationally to prevent muddy, barren conditions that reduce welfare benefits.