Pigs have cognitive abilities comparable to dogs and young children, yet commercial farming denies them the mental stimulation essential to their welfare.
Cognitively complex animals confined without enrichment develop extreme psychological distress. Pigs in barren environments engage in tail-biting, aggression, and stereotypic behaviors. Their frustration is not merely discomfort but intellectual suffering. Higher welfare pig farming providing rooting materials, space, and social grouping produces measurably better outcomes.