The field of positive welfare science has emerged to move beyond preventing negative states toward actively promoting positive experiences for animals, transforming the goals and metrics of welfare assessment.
Positive welfare science represents a fundamental shift in how we conceptualize good animal welfare. An animal kept in conditions preventing suffering but providing no opportunity for pleasure, play, or positive social interaction has inadequate welfare even by the prevention-focused standard. Positive welfare indicators including play frequency, exploratory behavior, positive social interaction, and cognitive engagement with enrichment provide measurable evidence of good welfare rather than merely the absence of poor welfare. This paradigm shift requires welfare standards and assessments to evaluate both the prevention of negative states and the promotion of positive experiences.