The focus in animal welfare has changed from merely minimizing suffering to also promoting positive experiences and a good life. Behavioral, physiological and cognitive research provide insight into positive affective states (emotions and moods) in animals and supports the notion of positive welfare. To improve the lives of farm animals, we need to understand what positive experiences in animals are and how they can be recognized. Within this action of the EU Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare the focus is on positive welfare with the overall objective to identify and validate animal-based measures of positive animal welfare and positive affective states. The farm animal species considered in this action are pigs, ruminants and poultry, with the FLI team focusing on poultry. The project includes both theoretical (identifying preferred and valued situations and potential indicators of positive animal affect, identifying knowledge gaps) and empirical research (identifying and validating animal-based measures of positive effect, e.g. on animal agency) and will be aligned with the ongoing Cost Action LIFT: Lifting farm animal lives – laying the foundations for positive animal welfare (2022-2026), https://liftanimalwelfare.eu/.

Project management FLI

Dr. E. Tobias Krause
Dr.  Antonia Patt

Project staff:

Nadine Heberl Kontakt: Nadine.heberl@~@fli.de