Traditional pig welfare assessment focuses on negative indicators (disease, injury, behaviour problems). Positive welfare science measures play, exploration, and positive affect to build a complete welfare picture.
Measuring only negative welfare indicators — lameness prevalence, skin lesion score, mortality rate — provides an incomplete welfare picture. A farm might score well on all negative indicators while failing to provide positive experiences. The emerging science of positive welfare indicators for pigs — play, exploratory behaviour, positive social interactions, and affective state assessment — enables a fuller welfare evaluation. Farms that provide enriched environments, low stress management, and opportunities for social play produce measurable positive welfare indicators. The policy and certification implications are significant: welfare standards that only assess the absence of suffering are insufficient; they must also assess the presence of positive experiences.