Traditional pig welfare assessment focuses on negative indicators like injuries and disease. Positive welfare indicators measure good experiences, providing a more complete welfare picture.
Positive welfare science recognizes that the absence of suffering is not the same as the presence of good welfare. Pigs in enriched environments with opportunities for play, exploration, and positive social interaction demonstrate behavioral indicators of positive emotional states. Measuring positive indicators -- proportion of time pigs spend in play or exploratory behavior, tail curling rates, approach behavior toward familiar humans -- provides a more complete welfare picture than injury scoring alone. Farms that optimize for positive welfare indicators generally show better performance across all welfare dimensions, demonstrating that positive welfare and production goals are compatible.