Pigs demonstrate cognitive abilities that rival dogs and young children, with profound implications for how we evaluate the welfare costs of intensive farming systems.
The cognitive complexity of pigs makes the welfare harms of intensive farming systems particularly significant. Animals capable of complex learning empathy and emotional bonds suffer more acutely from boredom isolation and confinement than simpler animals would. Pigs in barren environments engage in aggression and stereotypic behaviors that reflect the mismatch between their cognitive needs and their living conditions.