Dairy goat farming has grown rapidly with welfare challenges around social housing, kid rearing, and provision of adequate environmental complexity.
Goats are browsers by nature, evolved to move through varied terrain selecting diverse plant material. Intensive systems on concrete or slats prevent this. Goats kept without adequate structural complexity show boredom and redirected behaviours. Disbudding and castration are performed without adequate anaesthesia in many operations. Kid removal causes vocalisation distress in both dam and kid for 24-72 hours. Good welfare requires browsing enrichment, bedded resting areas, and humane procedure protocols.