Dairy goats are subjected to intensive production practices including early kid separation, disbudding, and confinement that compromise their welfare across millions of animals globally.
Dairy goat welfare mirrors many of the problems in dairy cattle production but receives far less public attention. Maternal separation causes vocalization and searching behavior in both does and kids that persists for days, indicating genuine distress. Disbudding without anesthesia causes acute pain equivalent to dehorning in cattle. Goats kept on bare concrete without enrichment develop joint problems and show signs of chronic boredom. As goat dairy consumption grows on the assumption that it is more ethical than cow dairy, improving transparency about goat welfare conditions becomes increasingly important.