Pig : © iStock . com / Clint Scholz ∙ Dog : © iStock . com / Angelika Schwarz

Years ago , actor James Cromwell stopped eating pigs while filming the movie Babe . “ If you love a dog , you have to love a pig . It ’ s the same ”, he told a reporter . “ The pig has the same life cares – nurtures , avoids pain , suffers loss – all exactly the same .”

Pigs are actually smarter than dogs and can learn to sit , jump , fetch and respond to other commands . They are so smart that they can learn to play video games , even performing better at them than some primates . But that doesn ’ t stop factory farmers from confining mother pigs for most of their lives to cramped “ gestation ” crates so small that they can ’ t even turn around or take a single step in any direction . Piglets are castrated and have their tails and parts of their teeth chopped off without being given any painkillers whatsoever . Can you imagine doing that to a dog ? You ’ d be slapped with cruelty-to-animals charges .

Studies have shown that fish are fast learners and form complex relationships . Fish “ talk ” to one another in low frequencies that are inaudible to the human ear . They can count , tell time and “ garden ” ( eg , damselfish tend to and harvest algae gardens ). Some fish even use tools . The blackspot tuskfish , for example , has been photographed smashing a clam on a rock until the clam cracks open . And contrary to industry propaganda , lobsters and crabs do feel pain – and studies have clearly shown that they are able to recall an unpleasant experience and take action to avoid repeating it .

Yet PETA ’ s affiliate documented live lobsters and crabs who were being torn limb from limb at a US slaughterhouse , and billions of fish are vacuumed up by huge fishing trawlers , often suffocating to death if they aren ’ t killed first by decompression . In addition to fish , millions of birds , turtles and marine mammals are killed every year “ by mistake ” in enormous fishing nets .

© Rudchenko / Dreamstime . com

Pigs aren ’ t the only animal Einsteins out there . Cows can learn how to push a lever to operate a drinking fountain when they ’ re thirsty or to press a button with their heads to release grain when they ’ re hungry . Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that when cows figured out how to open a gate to obtain food , they got so excited that some even jumped in the air . But cows on factory farms have nothing to celebrate . They are often confined by the thousands to filthy sheds that prohibit their natural social structure , causing them tremendous stress and frustration , just as you or I would feel living in such miserable , depressing conditions .

Calves on dairy farms are torn away from their loving mothers within hours of birth so that humans can drink the milk that nature intended for them . The sounds of distraught mother cows crying out for their calves , who have just been dragged away , are regularly heard coming from dairy farms .

20 Visit PETA . org . uk for more information .

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© Susan Ocean / United Poultry Concerns

Chickens are so smart that within hours of hatching , they ’ re able to perform mental feats that would baffle a human child . Newborn chicks can count to five , and by the time they ’ re 2 weeks old , they can navigate using the sun , which requires mathematical calculations . Very young chicks are able to understand that objects hidden from view still exist , a concept that human babies don ’ t grasp until they are a year old . “ As a trick at conferences , I sometimes list [ chickens ’] attributes , without mentioning chickens , and people think I ’ m talking about monkeys ”, says animal behaviourist Dr Chris Evans of Australia ’ s Macquarie University .

Naturalist Joe Hutto , star of the PBS documentary My Life as a Turkey , raised a flock of turkeys from birth and learned how curious , alert , affectionate and attentive they are . Turkeys possess “ an extraordinary intelligence characterised by true problem solving reason , and a consciousness that was undeniable , at all times conspicuous , and for me , humbling ”, says Hutto . He also noted that they had an extensive vocabulary , with specific vocalisations for individual animals – he identified more than 30 specific calls . One turkey , named Sweet Pea , used to love to climb into

Hutto ’ s lap and snuggle like a contented puppy .

And that ’ s not all ...