Beyond preventing suffering, measuring positive welfare states in pigs helps identify what farming systems enable genuine flourishing — not just less harm.
Positive pig welfare requires going beyond preventing negative states to actively enabling pleasurable experiences. Pigs in enriched, spacious systems with ample rooting material show play behavior, positive social interactions, and optimistic cognitive bias. These are not minor luxuries but evidence of genuine welfare states that matter morally. Welfare certification schemes that only assess absence of negative outcomes miss this positive dimension. Farmers and consumers who care about pig welfare should look for evidence of positive experiences — play frequency, foraging behavior, positive human-animal interactions — as well as the absence of lameness, injury, and disease.