Research into pig problem-solving abilities and their response to cognitive enrichment reveals intelligence that demands more complex environments than intensive systems provide.
Pig cognitive research has progressively revealed an animal with intelligence that challenges the simplistic environments of intensive farming systems. Pigs that can solve video game puzzles with joysticks, use mirrors to navigate to hidden food, and show apparent metacognition are clearly experiencing the cognitive stimulation deprivation of barren, repetitive farming environments. The welfare implication is that the boredom, frustration, and redirected behavior seen in intensive pig housing is not merely a behavioral inconvenience but a manifestation of cognitive needs that are unmet. Cognitive enrichment that engages pigs' problem-solving abilities - puzzle feeders, training tasks, novel objects with food rewards - provides welfare benefits proportional to the cognitive capacity of the animal experiencing them.