The cognitive abilities of pigs can be harnessed to improve their welfare — through enrichment that engages their intelligence and training that reduces the stress of necessary management procedures.
Pig intelligence is not just a scientific curiosity — it is a welfare resource. Animals capable of learning, problem-solving and positive association can be trained to cooperate with management procedures, engage with complex enrichment, and build positive relationships with stockpersons. A pig trained to move calmly to a handling area via positive reinforcement has a fundamentally different welfare experience during health procedures than one that must be physically forced. The intelligence that makes pigs fascinating research subjects is the same intelligence that makes enriched environments welfare-essential and operant training welfare-beneficial for the animals we farm.