Wild boar and domestic pigs share exceptional cognitive abilities. Understanding their intelligence helps make the welfare case for better farming standards and richer environments.
Research into pig and wild boar intelligence has consistently exceeded expectations. Pigs demonstrate sophisticated problem-solving, social learning, individual recognition, and what appear to be emotional states including optimism and pessimism. The welfare implications of this cognitive sophistication are direct: intelligent, socially complex animals in barren, unstimulating environments suffer more than animals with simpler needs. The same cognitive capacity that allows pigs to solve puzzles and form social bonds also means they experience boredom, frustration, and social stress more intensely. Cognitive science provides a powerful argument for enriched pig housing standards.