Pigs Are More Intelligent Than You Think. So Why Do We Treat Them Like They’re Not?
When we talk about intelligent animals, a few usual suspects come to mind. Elephants mourn their dead. Dolphins use complex communication. Chimps fashion tools to retrieve food. Even our dogs and cats seem to have their own intuitive wisdom, responding to our emotions and routines with an uncanny awareness.
But one animal rarely makes the list, despite being one of the most cognitively sophisticated creatures on the planet.
Pigs.
It turns out, pigs are not just smart. They are problem-solvers, strategists, and social learners. They remember. They empathize. They anticipate. In some studies, they have even outperformed dogs and human toddlers in intelligence tests.
Despite this, pigs are not treated with the same respect as elephants or dolphins. We do not pass laws protecting their habitats or celebrate their cognitive feats. Instead, we pack them into factory farms by the millions, locking away their intelligence in some of the most extreme forms of animal confinement.
So, what exactly are pigs capable of? And how does this knowledge challenge the way we see them?
Pigs Understand Time and Anticipate the Future
One of the hallmarks of higher intelligence is an awareness of time. Studies suggest pigs can distinguish between longer and shorter durations, meaning they have a sense of past, present, and future.
This has real-world consequences. On factory farms, mother pigs are confined to crates so small they can barely move, spending most of their lives in isolation. If pigs can understand the passage of time, what does it mean for an animal trapped in a space no bigger than their body with no ability to escape?
Even more remarkable, pigs can use environmental cues like sounds to predict what is coming next. They behave differently depending on whether they expect a positive or negative outcome. This means pigs in factory farms do not just suffer in the present. They anticipate suffering before it happens.
Pigs Have Long-Term Memories and Learn from Each Other
A pig can remember how to open a box months after learning the skill. If a pig watches another pig solve a problem, it can replicate the solution itself.
This ability, called social learning, is a trait shared by some of the world’s smartest species. It allows pigs to adapt quickly, learn from their experiences, and avoid making the same mistakes twice.
Yet, despite their advanced memory and learning abilities, pigs in factory farms endure brutal conditions with no opportunity to engage their intelligence. They are mutilated at birth, crammed into overcrowded pens, and denied anything to explore or interact with. This kind of extreme deprivation often leads them to develop compulsive coping behaviors, such as chewing on metal bars.
Pigs Can Navigate Complex Environments and Solve Puzzles
Just like dogs and chimpanzees, pigs use spatial learning to remember and navigate their surroundings. They can map out spaces in their minds, recall where food is hidden, and even find their way through mazes.
On factory farms, pigs are denied the ability to move freely. They are packed into barren pens with no stimulation, no varied terrain, and no ability to act on their natural instincts. The animals that could be exploring, playing, and problem-solving are instead reduced to numbers on a production line.
Pigs Feel Empathy and Express Emotion
Science confirms what anyone who has spent time with pigs already knows. Pigs are deeply emotional.
They respond to music much like humans do, displaying visible enjoyment when they hear sounds they like. They also experience joy and distress vicariously, meaning they feel the emotions of other pigs around them. When they see a friend suffering, they show clear signs of distress. When their companions are happy, they wag their tails in celebration.
On factory farms, piglets that fall ill are not treated or comforted. They are left to die and later discarded like trash. The same animals who can sense and respond to each other’s pain are given no relief from their own.
Pigs Have Unique Personalities
Personality is not just a human trait. It exists across species, shaping how individuals interact with the world. Some pigs are naturally bold, while others are shy. Some are more social, others more independent.
Just like humans, pigs experience mood shifts. Some days they feel optimistic, approaching challenges with confidence. Other times, they are more hesitant, cautious, and reserved. These unique, complex beings are not interchangeable, yet factory farming treats them as if they are.
What Does This Mean for How We Treat Pigs?
Every study on pig intelligence forces us to confront an uncomfortable reality. We know they are smart, sensitive, and self-aware. We know they can suffer. We know they can remember.
Yet, we still choose to look away.
We do not treat pigs like we treat dolphins, chimps, or elephants. Instead of protecting them, we keep them in conditions so horrific that they would be illegal if they were inflicted on a dog or cat. The same intelligence that we celebrate in other species is ignored in pigs because acknowledging it would force us to reconsider our choices.
But there is an alternative.
By choosing plant-based foods, advocating for stronger animal protections, and supporting organizations working to change the system (like Cotton Branch), we can begin to align our treatment of pigs with what we now know about them.
They are not commodities. They are not machines.
They are thinking, feeling, remembering beings.
And they deserve better.
