COST Action LIFT focusses on positive welfare of farm animals
Research on animal welfare has so far mainly been concerned with minimizing negative experiences. Positive animal welfare focusses on providing animals with experiences that elicit positive emotions. For example, providing animals with opportunities for play, positive social interactions, and agency.
The relatively recent shift in focus, from negative to positive, brings up many questions on what constitutes positive welfare and how it can be assessed.
Several terms are used for different aspects of positive welfare, including positive emotions, positive affective engagement, quality of life and happiness. The use of different terms without clear definitions adds to the unclarity about this new research area. The overall aim of LIFT is to bring cohesion to EU scientific research into positive animal welfare while ensuring that knowledge, understanding and future agendas are aligned with non-academic stakeholders in the EU.
For more information on positive animal welfare, you can also visit Positive Animal Welfare website. The website is developed by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Edinburgh, UK, as part of one of the Action Member’s projects on positive animal welfare.