Pigs are highly intelligent animals with complex social and cognitive needs that are frequently unmet in commercial housing systems.
The cognitive sophistication of pigs makes barren intensive housing environments particularly problematic from a welfare perspective. Pigs are motivated to root, explore, and engage with complex environments — deprivation of these opportunities leads to chronic frustration that manifests as tail biting, aggression, and other abnormal behaviours. Environmental enrichment — straw, hanging chains, rooting substrates — addresses these needs, reduces abnormal behaviour, and has minimal cost implications when designed well. The welfare case for pig enrichment is among the strongest in agriculture.