What is animal happiness?

Area of Science:

• Animal Welfare Science
• Ethology
• Animal Psychology

Background:

• Growing concern for nonhuman animal quality of life necessitates methods to assess thriving.
• Shift in research focus from minimizing negative states (e.g., stress) to promoting positive states (e.g., happiness).
• The concept of 'animal happiness' lacks a clear, operational definition despite increasing interest.

Purpose of the Study:

• To delineate a clear concept of animal happiness.
• To propose viable methods for assessing animal happiness.
• To address the need for understanding positive emotional states in animals.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of human and animal literature on emotion and well-being.
• Conceptual analysis to define animal happiness.
• Development of a framework for assessing subjective affective states in animals.

Main Results:

• Animal happiness is conceptualized as a typical or general level of positive affect.
• A framework is proposed for measuring this typical affective state.
• Distinguishes happiness from transient emotional experiences.

Conclusions:

• A precise definition of animal happiness is essential for advancing animal welfare science.
• Assessing typical affective states provides a robust measure of how well animals are thriving.
• This work provides a foundation for future research into positive animal experiences and welfare.