Animal welfare science has evolved beyond minimising suffering to encompass measuring and promoting positive emotional states in farm animals.
Welfare science has historically focused on disease, injury, and behavioural restriction as indicators of poor welfare. The positive welfare paradigm recognises that the absence of suffering does not constitute good welfare: animals should also experience positive states including pleasure from feeding, comfort from rest, joy in play, and satisfaction from exploration. Measuring positive states on farms requires validated tools including qualitative behaviour assessment, cognitive bias testing, and play frequency monitoring. Farms that actively promote positive experiences through enrichment and stockmanship are increasingly distinguished from those that merely avoid the worst conditions.