'Pig Chase': A Pig And Human Game App Intended To Improve Pig Farming Conditions (VIDEO)

If you've been longing to play an iPad game with a pig, not only are you adorable, you're in luck! Over in the Netherlands, three designers, a philosopher and an animal welfare specialist all concerned with ethical farming practices have designed an app concept called "Pig Chase," aimed at the two species the researchers found to be captivated by "light effects" (pigs follow moving light with their snouts, humans are just "charmed").

Based on the suggestion of a farmer whose kids had just gotten a Wii, the researchers ditched ideas of painting the walls of pig pens to stimulate them. With Pig Chase, via a tablet, human and pig players jointly steer balls of light on a pig pen wall toward targets. The pigs get to run around and equalize with their human masters, and the humans just might end up changing their "moral views on animal welfare," according to the Pig Chase press release. Check out the demo below, from the Utrecht School of the Arts' Vimeo page:

WATCH:

Playing with Pigs: Pig Chase from Utrecht School of the Arts on Vimeo.

Among the quickest animals to learn and the slowest to forget, pigs are both heavily protected and routinely mistreated. At its most direct, Pig Chase could help European farmers satisfy a 2001 EU directive requiring they "entertain" their charges as a way to eliminate the risky (and still very much practiced) procedure of tail amputations, or "docking," that's performed to stop bored, aggressive pigs from attacking each others' tails. Further down the line, it could just lead to more of this, which we are also totally cool with.

(Boing Boing via Mother Jones via Scientific American)

Comments

[GaryNOVA]

08:02 AM on 01/17/2012

I suddenly crave a BLT.

[Igor Purlantov]

12:53 PM on 01/13/2012

Pigs are very intelligent and emotionally sensitive animals. It is shame that they are so often mistreated.

www.igor-purlantov.org

[sabelmouse]

12:15 PM on 01/13/2012

i want an i pad. i tried one in a shop the other day. i'd love to play this.

[MCope]

11:32 AM on 01/13/2012

According to neurologists the brain structures that give us our sense of 'self' (it disappears when this part of the brain stem is damaged) are shared with most other mammals. Add intelligence (which pigs have plenty of) and there's no reason why we can't play. Part of the reason I'm a vegetarian.

[markedresolve]

09:19 AM on 01/13/2012

I will have to try this with my mother in law.

[Koiquoe]

09:15 AM on 01/13/2012

"A Game Humans And Pigs Can Play Together"

But Animal Farm said there is no longer a difference humans and pigs.

[Mensch99]

09:13 AM on 01/13/2012

I’ll have to get one of these for my pet pig.
I try to play with him but he cheats at checkers and just can’t seem to shuffle cards without making a mess.

[Flying Sparkz1]

11:06 AM on 01/13/2012

Schweine sind vernünftig, loyal und liebevoll. Sie sind auch köstlich!

Solidarität für Frieden und Wohlstand!

[TheIpsoFactory]

09:07 AM on 01/13/2012

Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Playing piggy pranks
And you can see them on their trotters
Down at the piggy banks
Paying piggy thanks
To thee, pig brother

[evilchihuahua]

09:06 AM on 01/13/2012

DON"T, I repeat DON"T!
Tell Ray Lynn Mitcham Jr. about this!

[NoboyukiMasaki]

07:02 AM on 01/13/2012

Very cool - and very therapeutic.


But isn't voting "Republican" - also a way to play with pigs?

[Bobic]

05:59 AM on 01/13/2012

Pigs are more people than corporations, whether you eat them or not.

[Dr Scott]

10:11 AM on 01/13/2012

I agree. I rather like pigs. They are very human-like. We both taste the same, too.

[Snarkadelic]

05:51 AM on 01/13/2012

I know another game. It's called bacon.

It's fun for me. Not so sure about the p!g though.

[evilchihuahua]

09:08 AM on 01/13/2012

We called that playing "BLT" when I grew up.

[HellBank]

05:34 AM on 01/13/2012

I was always taught not to play with my food.

[Counterglow]

05:26 AM on 01/13/2012

"A Game Humans And Pigs Can Play Together". Isn't this called "Red State Dating Game"?

[Snarkadelic]

05:53 AM on 01/13/2012

LOL!

SooooWeee !!

[TheIpsoFactory]

08:53 AM on 01/13/2012

If it's got Duelling Banjos as a theme, I'll buy that.

[cafebeege]

01:57 AM on 01/13/2012

If I read this very brief story correctly, it only mentions European farmers. Here in the US very few pigs even get to STAND UP their whole lives, let alone run around following a light as in this story. If you can stomach it, learn what American farmers do to pigs. I am still a moderate meat eater, HOWEVER until the US gets some reasonable compassion I can not ever eat any form of pork again, and I used to love bacon, pork roast and ham. CAN NOT tolerate the UNimaginable life of suffering we now put these animals through their ENTIRE lives here in this country. DISGUSTING !!!! Learn about it and do what you can to stop it.

[chrsmith3]

06:11 AM on 01/13/2012

You should go play with the pigs,,might learn from them,,,