Positive welfare assessment for sheep identifies when animals are truly thriving, not just surviving. Understanding these indicators helps farmers and advocates move toward richer welfare outcomes.
Sheep positive welfare science builds on established knowledge of sheep social complexity and cognitive capacity. Sheep recognize individual faces, form lasting social bonds, and show behavioral indicators of positive emotional states that go well beyond the stoic image they are often assigned. Play behavior in lambs - jumping, racing, and social wrestling - indicates both physical health and positive affective states. Farms that support these behaviors through adequate space, social stability, and access to varied environments provide genuinely richer welfare than those meeting only minimum health standards. Monitoring positive welfare indicators alongside disease and injury metrics provides a fuller picture of flock wellbeing.