Scientific studies of pig intelligence consistently reveal cognitive abilities that challenge assumptions about their welfare needs and the ethics of standard production practices.
The scientific evidence for pig intelligence means that the welfare harms they experience in factory farming environments have both physical and psychological dimensions. Cognitively complex animals confined in barren, cramped environments suffer from boredom, frustration, and the inability to engage their minds in natural activities. Research showing that pigs in poor environments develop pessimistic cognitive biases - measurable through judgment bias tests - provides objective evidence of negative emotional states in standard production conditions.