Dairy goat farming is intensifying in many countries, creating welfare challenges for a species whose needs differ significantly from dairy cattle.
Dairy goat welfare sits in the gap between the well-regulated intensive livestock sectors (cattle and pigs) and the less regulated but more traditional goat farming of low-income countries. As goat farming intensifies in high-income countries, the welfare framework lags behind the production system. The specific behavioural needs of goats — climbing, browsing, social complexity — are increasingly frustrated in intensive indoor systems. Building welfare standards for intensive dairy goat farming before rather than after the system is established is the most welfare-efficient approach.