Welfare science has moved beyond preventing suffering to enabling positive experiences. Understanding positive welfare indicators helps farms actively improve animal quality of life.
Positive welfare is not simply the absence of suffering but the presence of positive experiences. Animals with all physical needs met may still lack opportunities for play, exploration, problem-solving and social bonding. High-welfare farms actively create conditions enabling positive states: diverse enrichment, outdoor access, stable social groups, space for play and rest. Measuring positive welfare requires different tools than measuring negative experiences: behavioural indicators like play frequency, affiliative social behaviour and exploratory behaviour serve as proxies for positive affective states.