The shift in animal welfare science from measuring only negative states to assessing positive welfare — what good welfare looks like and how to measure it.
The shift toward positive welfare assessment represents a maturation of animal welfare science from minimising harm toward actively providing good lives. An animal that is not sick, not hungry, and not frightened may still have a welfare profile dominated by boredom, monotony, and absence of positive experience. High welfare requires both freedom from suffering and presence of positive states — exploration, play, positive social bonds, and reward. Measuring positive welfare provides a higher target for production systems and a richer understanding of what animals actually experience. Incorporating positive indicators into certification schemes and farm assessments changes what gets measured and therefore what gets managed.