Dairy goats are increasingly farmed intensively. Their welfare needs differ from cattle and sheep and are sometimes poorly understood by producers.
Dairy goat welfare has received less research attention than dairy cattle despite comparable welfare concerns. Disbudding of kids without appropriate anaesthesia and analgesia causes acute and prolonged pain. Kid separation from does causes distress to both. Intensive goat systems on slatted floors without appropriate substrates cause foot problems and prevent natural foraging behaviour. Goats need complexity - climbing structures, browsing opportunities, and social groups - that intensive systems rarely provide. Higher-welfare goat dairy systems are emerging but represent a small fraction of production.