Modern animal welfare science increasingly recognizes that genuine welfare requires positive experiences — pleasure, engagement, and positive affect — not merely the absence of pain and suffering.
The shift from welfare defined as absence of suffering to welfare as inclusive of positive experiences represents a fundamental advance in animal welfare science. An animal that is not hungry, not injured, and not afraid but also has nothing to do, no social bonds, and no opportunity for play or exploration is not thriving — it is merely not suffering overtly. This distinction matters practically: enrichment programs, positive reinforcement training, and social grouping that enable positive experiences improve welfare even when baseline health metrics are adequate. High standards now require demonstrating positive affect, not just absence of negative affect.