Denmark | Artificial intelligence helped Danish researchers figure out the “language of pigs” – those who move outside grunt more contentedly

19 bravados and scream. That’s how many different pig vocalizations researchers from the University of Copenhagen managed to identify, says Danish Radio (DR).

The researchers found out what a pig sounds like when it’s happy, bored and stressed, for example. It is known that never before has it been found out how pigs feel in a piggery and how pigs express their feelings, says DR.

Nine pig farms from Denmark and Germany participated in the study. The vocalizations of the animals were measured for one week. The study analyzed 15,425 grunts and screams.

“It’s really wonderful that my colleagues at the University of Copenhagen have found a way to answer an everyday question: how does a pig really react to the way we treat it,” says the professor of animal welfare Peter Sandøe from the University of Copenhagen to DR.

Pigs understanding pronunciation is the result of more than ten years of work. Researchers were able to understand the pig’s emotions with the help of artificial intelligence. Algorithm created by researchers translated pig vocalizations into human language, DR explains the research process.

According to DR, the vocalizations of the pigs were recorded in different situations – for example, when the pigs were playing, when they were isolated or when they were fighting for food.

of Denmark Director of the Agriculture and Food Council, Christian Fink Hansen had a positive attitude towards the study.

“Exciting research. It would be great if there was technology that could inform the farmer that the situation needs to be addressed now if, for example, the pig screams or otherwise signals that it needs help,” Fink Hansen tells DR.

Also the director of the Danish animal protection organization Dyrenes Beskyttelse Britta Riis comment on the research result to DR:

“Pigs are meant to live outdoors and in forests. Pigs should be taken out more to make them happier,” he says.

Research results based on this, the pigs moving outside were the most satisfied, says DR. However, according to DR, based on the results, no clear conclusions can be drawn about what kind of environment is best for pigs.

According to DR, the study found that pigs on one traditional farm farted just as enthusiastically as pigs that spend time outside.

“There is great variation in the results. One has to be careful when saying that it is terrible for a pig to live on a traditional farm. Some pigs have challenges,” says Professor Sandøe.