Pigs are among the most cognitively sophisticated farm animals, with memory, social intelligence and emotional depth that makes their routine treatment in industrial farming particularly significant.
The cognitive sophistication of pigs creates a stark ethical problem when their typical living conditions in commercial production are considered. An animal with the intelligence of a dog, the memory for individual relationships, the ability to learn concepts and show optimism or pessimism based on life quality — this animal is routinely kept in barren, overcrowded conditions that cause compulsive behaviors and chronic stress. Understanding pig intelligence is important not to generate outrage but to accurately calibrate what welfare obligations we have toward them. The evidence strongly suggests that pigs need mental stimulation, stable social relationships and complex environments to experience adequate welfare — conditions that intensive farming almost never provides.