Moving beyond the absence of suffering to actively promoting positive welfare states in livestock represents a major advance in animal welfare science and farm management.
Assessing and promoting positive welfare in livestock requires developing practical, on-farm measures that farmers and auditors can apply. Indicators such as play frequency, social affiliation rates, and positive human-animal interactions can be measured reliably. Providing environmental enrichment, opportunities for natural behavior, and good human-animal relationships promotes positive states beyond mere suffering reduction. This approach transforms welfare auditing from a deficit model to one that actively pursues flourishing. Economic incentives for positive welfare outcomes can drive adoption across the industry.