In this episode of Animals in Translation, Kerri and Sophie interview Dr. Inés Sánchez-Garcia about her MSc dissertation on the motivation and cognitive abilities of pigs. Ines is a laboratory animal veterinarian at Newcastle University. She is responsible for, monitors and provides advice on the health, welfare and treatment of animals in research, with a particular interest in animal welfare, motivation and cognition. After graduating from Complutense University of Madrid, she pursued an international career across three continents as a veterinary clinician. Her passion for animal welfare drove her to complete a master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh in applied animal behaviour and welfare.

Inés explains the complex relationship between motivation, behavior, and cognition, and how it should be considered in animal research to help reduce bias and support the 3R-s, particularly the reduction of animals used. Inés walks listeners through the concepts of contra freeloading, such as cat predation, and reward anticipation through learned experience, such as training a dog with treats. She also touches on the variation in cognitive styles, such as in humans using different skills to solve a math problem. Here’s a link to a video about her research.

Inés' study supports the claim that food restriction is not necessary for cognitive behavioral research on pigs. The study also suggests that pigs with environmental enrichment tend to perform better on cognitive tests.  Inés highlights the need for better welfare standards in animal husbandry, particularly eliminating the use of farrowing and gestation crates, and providing straw to pigs in commercial farms.

Get full access to Animals in Translation at animalsintranslation.substack.com/subscribe