Research into positive emotional states in pigs is transforming welfare science from a deficit-focused to a flourishing-centered approach.
The science of positive emotions in pigs challenges the welfare field to move beyond simply asking whether animals are suffering and toward asking whether they are flourishing. A welfare assessment that only measures disease, injury, and distress will consistently miss the question of whether pigs are experiencing positive states — curiosity, play, contentment, social bonding — that constitute a good life. This reframing has practical implications: welfare standards that require enrichment sufficient for positive emotional expression rather than just the absence of negative states are more demanding and more meaningful. Measuring and rewarding positive welfare indicators gives farmers a target beyond compliance — a genuine aspiration for the quality of life their animals experience.