Goats are among the most widely farmed animals globally, particularly in developing countries, with welfare challenges spanning housing, kidding, and the management of a highly intelligent, exploratory species.
Goat welfare spans an enormous range from small-scale village systems where animals have freedom to roam and complex environments, to intensive dairy systems where confinement and disease management create significant welfare challenges. The species is highly intelligent and motivated to explore and climb -- confinement without environmental complexity causes stereotypic behaviour and apparent frustration that is well-documented. For the billions of goats in subsistence systems, welfare is intertwined with owner poverty and traditional management practices that evolved in specific ecological contexts. For intensive dairy systems, the welfare science applicable to other dairy species -- mastitis management, housing quality, kidding welfare -- applies with equal force to goats.