Farm Animal Welfare

Pig Positive Welfare Indicators in Practice

Moving beyond the absence of suffering to actively measuring positive welfare states in pigs is an emerging priority in farm animal welfare science.

Key Facts

Positive welfare indicators include play behavior, exploration, social bonding, and positive anticipation
Qualitative Behavior Assessment captures emotional state from behavioral observation
Play in pigs - running, jumping, and social play - is a reliable indicator of positive welfare
Pigs in enriched environments show more positive qualitative behavior assessment scores
Welfare Quality Protocol incorporates positive welfare indicators alongside negative measures

Welfare Considerations

Welfare frameworks that only measure suffering tell us what is wrong but not what good looks like. Measuring and optimizing for positive welfare states - joy, play, exploration - represents the frontier of farm animal welfare thinking.

What You Can Do

Support farms that go beyond minimum standards to actively promote positive welfare
Advocate for positive welfare indicators in certification and audit schemes
Choose pork from producers who publish evidence of positive welfare states