Research into positive emotional states in pigs has transformed welfare assessment, moving beyond disease and injury metrics to include indicators of joy, curiosity, and contentment.
The shift toward measuring positive welfare in pigs represents a significant advance in farm animal welfare science. Traditional assessments focused on the absence of suffering - injuries, disease, poor body condition - but miss the presence of positive states that are equally important for good welfare. Farms providing enrichment, space for play, and positive human-animal interactions can demonstrably improve the emotional lives of pigs, not merely reduce negative experiences.