Pig Positive Emotions: Evidence and Implications for Welfare Assessment

The growing scientific evidence that pigs experience positive emotional states and what this means for how we design and assess welfare in pig farming.

Key Facts

Research demonstrates pigs experience positive emotional states including play, anticipation, and satisfaction
Pigs trained to play a video game showed frustration when the game was removed - indicating expectations
Cognitive bias tests show pigs in better welfare conditions are more optimistic in ambiguous situations
Positive welfare indicators include play behavior, ear posture, and tail position in pigs
The Five Domains model of welfare explicitly includes positive experiences as a welfare outcome
Current welfare assessment frameworks are increasingly incorporating positive welfare indicators

Welfare Considerations

Recognizing that pigs experience positive emotional states has profound implications for welfare standards. Traditional welfare frameworks focused on preventing negative experiences - reducing pain, fear, and frustration. But if pigs can experience joy through play, satisfaction from foraging, and positive social interactions, then welfare systems that merely prevent negatives are incomplete. True pig welfare requires providing opportunities for positive experiences - enriched environments that allow exploration and play, social conditions that enable positive interactions, and management practices that create predictable, positive relationships between pigs and their carers. This is a more ambitious but more complete vision of pig welfare.

What You Can Do

Support farms and certification schemes that explicitly assess positive welfare in pigs
Advocate for inclusion of positive welfare indicators in farm assurance standards
Choose pork products from systems that provide enrichment and positive social conditions
Support research into pig emotional states and positive welfare indicators