Studies Show That Pigs Are More Intelligent Than Dogs

https://www.wideopenpets.com/studies-show-pigs-actually-intelligent-dogs/

by vezycash • 8 years ago

24 18 8 years ago

wideopenpets.com

jdsampayo• 8 years ago

"Several studies", "Other studies" which studies?

robbrown451• 8 years ago

How hard would it be to selectively breed for dumbness? I would pay extra for bacon that is certified as low IQ.

hjek• 8 years ago

You can get bacon made without killing high IQ animals already[0]. It's not very pricy.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian_bacon

tw04• 8 years ago

It's also about a satisfying as eating bacon flavored cardboard.

grogenaut• 8 years ago

According to the FDA, no you can't.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/7c48be3e-e516-4ccf...

"The term “bacon” is used to describe the cured belly of a swine carcass. If meat from other portions of the carcass is used, the product name must be qualified to identify the portions, e.g., “Pork Shoulder Bacon.” "

So labeling Vegetarian Bacon as just Bacon is breaking da law.

hanoz• 8 years ago

Why? Is it better to eat a pig with a lower IQ? Even if it would have had a higher IQ had you not bred it out of one?

What about a pig with a higher IQ but which was happy with its lot?

https://youtu.be/bAF35dekiAY?t=1m13s

buzzdenver2• 8 years ago

Domestication already removed the selective pressure for IQ.

pstuart• 8 years ago

That would be meat from a vat -- zero IQ.

zzo38computer• 8 years ago

I have read many far before in books, television, and others, also that pigs are more intelligent than dogs. It isn't new. (I do not remember them to cite now though)

buzzdenver2• 8 years ago

All this highlights that the bond between man and dog, or really man and anything, is much more about the emotional connection than an intellectual one.

sixQuarks• 8 years ago

I have two dogs. One is extremely smart, the other is pretty stupid. I’m more attached to the stupid one.

hvdhh7• 8 years ago

That's not saying much.

jarboe• 8 years ago

personally I've had more engaging eye contact with a pig (who we then proceeded to turn in to a variety of sausages) compared with any other animal. falling back to the various studies showing how the dilation of pupils relates directly with cognition, it suffices to say that you can gage someone's intelligence by looking in to their eyes. it is not then a stretch to see that a pig is intelligent when it catches eyes with you (which not that many animals can do).

raz32dust• 8 years ago

The implicit assumption is that we should not eat "intelligent" animals. How does it matter? Which animals are pets and which are food is largely a cultural agreement. Humans are very good at creating abstract mental categories - this "dog" is my pet, but this other "dog" is my food. There are several communities in the world which keep dogs as both pets and food[1].

Not to mention the whole issue of defining intelligence itself. In context of this article, the better way to put it would be, pigs are more anthropomorphic than dogs in their reactions. One could make an evolutionary case for not eating humans, and the tendency to not eat animals that seem more "human" can be seen as a side-effect.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_meat#Pet_breeds

userbinator• 8 years ago

In fact, I'd argue that pet dogs are bred specifically for traits like "obedience" which tends to favour less intelligence if anything --- so it's not surprising that pigs, which aren't selected for such traits, could be more intelligent than dogs.

esotericn• 8 years ago

The implicit assumption is that we should not eat "intelligent" animals. How does it matter?

Indeed. The same standard applied to say, severely impaired humans would obviously hold no water.

known• 8 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita_International_Airport uses pigs to sniff drugs

notroot• 8 years ago

alright, can we get the next study to show pigs are more intelligent than humans? shouldn't be too hard.

Studies Show That Pigs Are More Intelligent Than Dogs

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