Scientific research has revealed that pigs possess remarkable cognitive abilities including problem-solving, learning, and potential self-awareness that strengthen the welfare case for better treatment.
Pig intelligence research has consistently exceeded expectations, revealing cognitive capacities comparable to dogs and exceeding those of young human children in some tasks. This intelligence makes behavioral deprivation in barren factory farms especially costly — the more cognitively sophisticated an animal, the richer its capacity for boredom, frustration, and suffering in impoverished environments.