Modern pig welfare science increasingly focuses on positive welfare states - play, exploration, and social bonding - not just the absence of pain and disease.
The shift toward positive welfare in pig science is significant. Rather than merely measuring absence of problems, researchers now assess presence of good experiences. Play, exploration, and social bonding are welfare indicators in themselves. Producers who invest in environments that allow positive experiences - rooting substrates, space to run, stable social groups - see measurable returns in health and productivity alongside real welfare gains.