Research into pig cognition reveals sophisticated mental capabilities that have profound implications for how we understand and address their welfare needs.
Evidence for pig intelligence and emotional sophistication makes the welfare deficit in conventional intensive farming even more ethically significant. Pigs confined in barren environments with minimal stimulation experience chronic boredom and frustration that their cognitive capacity makes particularly harmful. Their ability to form social bonds and their empathetic responses mean social deprivation causes genuine suffering. This body of research argues strongly for treating pigs as cognitively complex individuals requiring environments that engage their mental capabilities, not just meet their physical needs.