Positive welfare — not just preventing suffering but enabling good experiences — is transforming how we think about pig farming. Research shows pigs can thrive when given opportunities for play, exploration, and social bonding.
Positive welfare for pigs represents a paradigm shift from merely preventing suffering to actively enabling good lives. Research on pig cognition demonstrates that these are emotionally rich, curious, and playful animals capable of experiencing positive emotional states. Farms that provide rooting material, manipulable objects, social stability, and adequate space show measurable increases in play and positive cognitive bias indicators. These improvements are achievable within commercial production contexts and often also reduce problem behaviors like tail-biting and aggression that cost producers through injuries and mortality. Positive welfare is not idealistic — it is practical, measurable, and increasingly demanded by consumers and welfare-conscious retailers.