Positive welfare science for pigs is developing indicators that go beyond disease absence to measure genuine thriving, including play, exploration, social bonding, and optimistic cognitive appraisal.
The development of positive welfare indicators for pigs represents a significant advance in moving beyond the traditional disease-and-injury focus of farm welfare assessment. A farm that has reduced lameness and tail biting to low levels has improved welfare, but may still house pigs in conditions that prevent play, social bonding, and positive affective states. Positive indicators provide complementary information about whether animals are genuinely thriving. Pig ear posture as a real-time welfare indicator is particularly promising because it can be assessed rapidly across large groups without individual handling. The integration of positive indicators into commercial welfare assessment protocols is beginning in some jurisdictions and certification schemes, reflecting growing recognition that welfare is not merely the absence of suffering but the presence of positive experiences.