Access to bedding and outdoor runs for growing-finishing pigs: is it possible to improve welfare without increasing environmental impacts?

• Published in: Animal (Cambridge, England) England), 2024-05, Vol.18 (5), p.101155-101155, Article 101155
• Main Authors: Ruckli, A.K., Hörtenhuber, S., Dippel, S., Ferrari, P., Gebska, M., Heinonen, M., Helmerichs, J., Hubbard, C., Spoolder, H., Valros, A., Winckler, C., Leeb, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acidification; Animal Husbandry - methods; Animal Welfare; Animals; Bedding and Linens - veterinary; Environment; Europe; Eutrophication; Exploratory behaviour; Farms; Global Warming; Housing, Animal; Life Cycle Assessment; Swine - growth & development; Swine - physiology
• ISSN: 1751-7311; 1751-732X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101155

•We investigated the impacts of bedding and outdoor runs on pig welfare and environment.•Bedding improved aspects of pig welfare, e.g. exploratory behaviour and oral stereotypies.•Acidification was higher on farms with bedding due to emissions from farm yard manure.•Global warming/freshwater eutrophication did not significantly differ due to farm variability.•Manure management innovations are needed to reduce emissions on farms with bedding. Providing bedding or access to an outdoor run are husbandry aspects intended to improve pig welfare, which is currently financially supported through animal welfare schemes in several European countries. However, they may significantly affect the environment through changes in feed efficiency and manure management. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to compare farms differing in animal welfare relevant husbandry aspects regarding (1) the welfare of growing-finishing pigs and (2) environmental impact categories such as global warming (GW), acidification (AC), and freshwater (FE) and marine eutrophication (ME), by employing an attributional Life Cycle Assessment. We collected data on 50 farms with growing-finishing pigs in seven European countries. Ten animal-based welfare indicators were aggregated into three pig welfare indices using principal component analysis. Cluster analysis of farms based on husbandry aspects resulted in three clusters: NOBED (31 farms without bedding or outdoor run), BED (11 farms with bedding only) and BEDOUT (eight farms with bedding and outdoor run). Pigs on farms with bedding (BED and BEDOUT) manipulated enrichment more often (P