Moving beyond the absence of suffering to actively assessing positive welfare states in pigs represents a major advance in farm animal welfare science with practical implications for husbandry.
Positive welfare science in pigs challenges the traditional deficit model — where welfare is measured only by what is absent (disease, injury, fear) rather than what is present (pleasure, curiosity, play). A pig that does not show clinical disease but is housed in a barren pen without enrichment, never engages in play, and holds its tail tucked all day is not in positive welfare, even by absence-of-harm criteria. Measuring positive states requires direct observation: watching for spontaneous play bouts, recording ear and tail posture in relaxed conditions, assessing exploratory behaviour when novel enrichment is introduced, and using QBA to capture the overall emotional tenor of the group. These measures are feasible on commercial farms with trained staff. Systems that score well on positive welfare indicators — free-range and outdoor systems with rooting substrate, group housing with enrichment, and calm stockmanship — consistently show higher play rates and more positive behavioural indicators. Embedding positive welfare indicators into certification standards and supply chain auditing sends a clear signal that welfare is not merely the absence of suffering but the presence of a life worth living.