Pigs are cognitively sophisticated animals that benefit greatly from enrichment that challenges them mentally, with evidence that complexity improves their psychological welfare.
Pigs in conventional intensive systems are chronically understimulated relative to their cognitive capacity. The mismatch between their intelligence and their barren environment causes psychological suffering that manifests as aggression, stereotypy, and chronic stress. Providing enrichment that exercises cognitive abilities - foraging puzzles, novel objects, training - reduces these negative indicators and improves measurable positive welfare states.