Research into pig and wild boar cognition reveals intellectual capacities that raise profound questions about the welfare implications of current farming practices.
Pig cognition research has fundamentally changed how scientists understand what it means to keep pigs in barren, confined environments. An animal that can learn to play video games, has long-term memory, picks up emotional states from companions, and has an abstract understanding of symbolic representation is an animal with rich mental life that experiences deprivation acutely. The cognitive complexity of pigs makes the welfare cost of barren, restrictive farming environments higher than for cognitively simpler animals - there is more potential mental life that is being constrained and frustrated. This research should inform both public attitudes toward pig farming and regulatory standards for what constitutes adequate environment for these intelligent animals.