Pig Emotion and Cognition

Over the recent years, research on animals’ emotions and cognition has grown greatly. This has offered new perspectives on animal sentience and has had major repercussions for the considerations of animal welfare. Additionally, better understanding of animals’ emotions and cognition has also resulted in better science.

The cognitive abilities of pigs are known to be complex and broad. Their abilities in spatial learning and memory, and in the recognition of conspecifics, humans, and objects, have been well-demonstrated. There is some evidence of more complex cognitive abilities in pigs such as time perception and perspective-taking, which suggest the existence of self-awareness and complex emotions.

Consequently, pigs’ emotions have also been a recent focus of scientific investigations. Environmental features such as opportunities for play and environmental enrichment, as well as the quality of the human–animal interactions have been found to influence pigs’ emotional state. Emotional contagion, which may relate to empathic abilities, has also been observed in pigs.

There is a need for more understanding of pigs’ emotions and cognition, in order to promote better welfare on farms. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to present research papers and reviews on the recent advances in this important subject.

Dr. Oceane Schmitt
Guest Editor

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• emotions
• cognitive abilities
• self-awareness
• cognitive enrichment
• emotional contagion
• perspective-taking
• time perception
• comparative cognition