Pigs are highly intelligent and behaviourally complex animals whose welfare in intensive systems is severely compromised by the failure to meet their enrichment and social needs.
Pigs in intensive systems are among the most welfare-compromised of all farmed animals. Their high intelligence means that boredom, frustration and stress from inability to perform natural behaviours cause measurable psychological as well as physical suffering. Tail docking — a painful mutilation — is performed as a management solution to a welfare problem caused by barren environments. The root cause solution of providing adequate space, rooting material and social complexity would eliminate the need for painful mutilation. Research on pig cognitive bias — using ambiguous cue tests — demonstrates that welfare conditions affect emotional state in measurable, scientifically robust ways.