Pigs are highly intelligent social animals with cognitive abilities comparable to dogs; their enrichment needs are often severely unmet in intensive systems.
The cognitive sophistication of pigs makes their welfare in barren intensive environments particularly troubling. Intelligent animals denied outlets for natural behaviour experience chronic frustration and boredom that manifests as aggression, tail biting, and stereotypic behaviour. Effective enrichment must be manipulable, novel, and varied — fixed objects lose efficacy rapidly. Straw bedding, rooting substrate, browse materials, and objects with varied textures significantly improve welfare. Higher-welfare pork certification schemes require meaningful enrichment as a core standard. Pork consumers have substantial leverage to drive improvements through purchasing choices.