How research into positive emotional states in farm animals is changing our understanding of what good welfare requires beyond the absence of suffering.
The traditional framework for farm animal welfare has focused primarily on reducing suffering — preventing disease, injury, hunger, and fear. While this remains essential, a growing body of research demonstrates that farm animals have rich capacities for positive emotional experience: the pleasure of grazing, the joy of play, the satisfaction of social bonding, the curiosity of exploration. A welfare system that eliminates the worst experiences but provides no opportunities for positive ones fails to fully honour what farm animals need and deserve. Integrating positive welfare into management practice means not only removing harms but actively providing opportunities for animals to experience the good things their nature makes possible.