Pigs have demonstrated cognitive abilities that rival those of dogs and non-human primates. Understanding pig intelligence informs welfare standards for cognitive stimulation and environmental complexity.
The documented intelligence of pigs places a high ethical responsibility on producers and society to provide environments that meet their cognitive as well as physical needs. Barren housing that provides no cognitive challenge causes chronic frustration in animals capable of complex learning and social engagement. The welfare case for providing pigs with varied enrichment, stable social groups, and opportunities for exploration is compelling and growing with each advance in pig cognition research.