Moving beyond minimum standards, positive welfare assessment for pigs measures indicators of good quality of life. Practical positive welfare indicators are transforming how pig farming is evaluated.
Positive welfare assessment recognises that the absence of suffering is not equivalent to good welfare — animals deserve experiences of genuine positive quality. For pigs, this means not just freedom from pain and disease but regular opportunities for play, exploration, social bonding and physical satisfaction through rooting and manipulation of objects. Research shows that pigs in enriched environments with rooting materials, space to move and stable social groups show measurable positive welfare indicators including more play, more relaxed social interactions and more exploratory behaviour. Auditing systems that include positive indicators alongside traditional measures of injuries and disease create incentives for farms to actively improve welfare beyond minimum standards. Consumer demand for genuinely positive welfare standards drives this process.