Understanding pig language thanks to AI, still dare to eat pork?

The team of experts from Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Norway and the Czech Republic used thousands of recorded sounds from pigs in various situations, such as playing, being isolated or fighting over food.

Through research, they have identified sounds that express positive or negative emotions of this animal.

According to behavioral biologist Elodie Mandel-Briefer of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) - co-lead of the study, understanding animal language will contribute significantly to improving the lives of animals in farming.

Although many farmers have a good understanding of animal welfare through observing them in barns, existing tools mainly measure physical condition.

The new AI algorithm not only helps farmers better understand their pigs' emotions, but also alerts them when negative signs appear, thereby improving the psychology of these animals.

Research shows that pigs raised on outdoor, free-range or organic farms tend to make less stressed squeals than pigs raised using conventional methods.

The researchers believe that the method, once fully developed, could be used to label farms, making it easier for consumers to choose which products to buy.

According to the study, short calls often indicate positive emotions, while long calls often signal discomfort, such as when pigs jostle each other at the feeding trough.

High-frequency sounds indicate that pigs are stressed, such as when they are in pain, fighting, or separated from the herd.

The scientists used these findings to create an AI-powered algorithm. “AI helped us both process the large volume of audio we were receiving and automatically classify the audio,” says Mandel-Briefer.