Pigs are among the most cognitively sophisticated domestic animals, yet most are kept in intensive conditions that prevent expression of their complex behavioral repertoire. The gap between cognitive capacity and typical living conditions is a major welfare concern.
The cognitive sophistication of pigs makes their confinement in intensive farming systems a particularly acute welfare problem. Animals with the capacity for complex social relationships, play, and problem-solving experience significant psychological deprivation in barren, overcrowded conditions. The scientific evidence for pig sentience is among the strongest of any farmed species, creating a strong ethical case for welfare reforms including enriched environments, outdoor access, and the elimination of gestation crates.