Pigs are among the most cognitively sophisticated farm animals, capable of learning complex tasks, recognising themselves in mirrors, and demonstrating empathy. Their intelligence has direct implications for enrichment needs.
The cognitive sophistication of pigs has profound welfare implications that are largely unrecognised by the public and inadequately addressed by the industry. A cognitively complex animal in a barren, stimulus-poor environment experiences something analogous to profound boredom and frustration. The pessimistic cognitive bias documented in pigs raised in impoverished conditions is not just a behavioural curiosity — it reflects a persistent negative emotional state affecting every waking moment. Enrichment that challenges pig cognition — foraging tasks, novel objects, rooting substrate — addresses fundamental psychological needs. The gap between what we know about pig cognition and the environments in which the vast majority of the world's billion-plus pigs are raised represents one of the most significant welfare injustices in modern animal agriculture.