Farm Animal Welfare

Pig Welfare Animal Cognition Welfare

Advances in understanding animal cognition are transforming our understanding of pig welfare needs and the moral weight of pig suffering.

Key Facts

Pigs demonstrate metacognition, knowing when they do not know something in experimental contexts
Play behaviour in pigs creates positive emotional states that farm environments often prevent
Social learning from conspecifics allows pigs to solve problems and learn from each other
Pigs show pessimistic cognitive bias in poor welfare conditions revealing emotional state assessment
Pig cognition research is converging with welfare science to inform more sophisticated welfare standards

Welfare Considerations

Animal cognition research reveals pigs as far more sophisticated cognitive and emotional beings than industrial farming contexts typically acknowledge. This understanding has profound implications for the welfare standards we should apply to commercial pig production.

What You Can Do

Engage with animal cognition research about pig intelligence and emotional life
Advocate for welfare standards informed by the full cognitive and emotional capacities of pigs
Support research organisations advancing understanding of pig cognition and its welfare implications