Pig Positive Emotions and Welfare Assessment

Assessing positive welfare states in pigs - not just absence of suffering - is advancing through cognitive bias testing, play behaviour monitoring, and ear posture studies.

Key Facts

Pigs show play behaviour (running, jumping, play fighting) as a positive welfare indicator
Cognitive bias tests measure whether animals expect positive or negative outcomes - a proxy for mood
Ear posture in pigs is a validated welfare indicator - backward ears indicate negative states, forward indicate positive
Tail posture in pigs is another indicator - a curled tail suggests positive welfare, tucked tail suggests stress
Pigs seek novelty and enrichment actively - providing enrichment increases positive welfare indicators
The Five Domains model explicitly includes positive welfare assessment alongside harm reduction

Welfare Considerations

Positive welfare assessment represents a significant conceptual advance in pig welfare science. Rather than simply measuring suffering and seeking its absence, positive welfare assessment identifies indicators of good welfare - playfulness, optimistic cognitive bias, relaxed postures, social affiliation. Farms that optimise for positive welfare indicators rather than merely minimising negative ones achieve better overall welfare outcomes. This shift requires training stockpersons to observe and interpret positive welfare signals and farm assurance schemes to include positive welfare indicators in audit protocols. Consumer communication about positive welfare is also increasingly effective.

What You Can Do

Support farm assurance schemes that include positive welfare indicators alongside harm reduction measures
Engage with pig welfare research organisations including Pig Welfare Group and CIWF
Choose pork from producers with demonstrated positive welfare environments
Advocate for positive welfare indicators to be included in regulatory welfare assessments
Support research into cognitive bias and other positive welfare assessment tools for farm species
Share the concept of positive welfare with farmers, consumers, and policymakers