Research on positive emotions in farm animals is transforming welfare assessment from a deficit model to a comprehensive account of animal flourishing.
Positive welfare science represents a paradigm shift in how we understand and measure animal wellbeing. Traditional welfare assessment focused primarily on the absence of suffering — freedom from pain, hunger, fear. Positive welfare science asks what animals experience when things are going well, and finds consistent evidence of play, curiosity, social affiliation, and apparent joy in animals given appropriate conditions. This richer picture of animal inner life provides both scientific and moral motivation to go beyond preventing harm toward actively creating conditions in which animals can experience positive states. It is also practically useful: positive welfare indicators are often measurable and provide real-time feedback about management quality.