Pigs are among the most cognitively sophisticated animals raised for food, with intelligence comparable to dogs and chimpanzees - making the welfare implications of intensive pig farming particularly significant.
The cognitive sophistication of pigs has profound welfare implications. An animal with the intelligence of a dog or young chimpanzee, experiencing the behavioral deprivation of a barren battery cage system, is suffering in ways that are qualitatively different from what we might expect of less cognitively complex animals. Pigs can remember their experiences, anticipate future events, and perceive their situation relative to a memory of better conditions. The frustration of their investigatory, social, and problem-solving drives in impoverished environments creates a form of cognitive suffering that adds to the physical welfare harms. Enrichment studies that provide pigs with cognitively engaging challenges show dramatic behavioral and physiological improvements, confirming that their intelligence is central to their welfare needs.