Moving beyond absence of suffering to promoting positive states in pigs is transforming welfare assessment. Play, curiosity, and exploration are measurable positive indicators.
The welfare science community has recognized that preventing suffering is necessary but not sufficient for good animal welfare. Positive emotional states - joy, curiosity, playfulness - are genuine components of a life worth living for pigs. Farming systems that actively promote these positive states, not merely reduce negative ones, represent the ethical frontier of animal agriculture.