How enrichment that engages pig intelligence improves welfare in intensive farming environments.
Pig intelligence is well established scientifically but poorly reflected in standard farming practice. Systems that confine highly intelligent animals in barren environments deprive them of the cognitive stimulation they need to thrive. Enrichment that engages pig problem-solving ability — rooting substrate, foraging challenges, novel objects — produces animals with measurably lower stress and less damaging behavior toward each other. Designing pig environments that match the cognitive complexity of the species is not a luxury but a welfare necessity.