New AI tool translates the sounds pigs make to assess their emotional well-being

European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds, with the aim of creating a tool that can help farmers improve animal welfare.

The algorithm could potentially alert farmers to negative emotions in pigs, thereby improving their well-being, according to Elodie Mandel-Briefer, a behavioural biologist at Denmark’s University of Copenhagen who is co-leading the study.

The scientists, from universities in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Norway and the Czech Republic, used thousands of recorded pig sounds in different scenarios, including play, isolation and competition for food, to find that grunts, oinks, and squeals reveal positive or negative emotions.

While many farmers already have a good understanding of the well-being of their animals by watching them in the pig pen, existing tools mostly measure their physical condition, said Mandel-Briefer.

Once we have the tool working, farmers can have an app on their phone that can translate what their pigs are saying in terms of emotions

Elodie Mandel-Briefer, behavioural biologist

“Emotions of animals are central to their welfare, but we don’t measure it much on farms,” she said.

The algorithm showed that pigs kept in outdoor, free-range or organic farms with the ability to roam and dig in the dirt produced fewer stress calls than conventionally raised pigs.

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