Goats are farmed worldwide for meat, milk, and fiber — intelligent, curious animals with strong social bonds whose welfare is frequently compromised by intensive housing and painful husbandry practices.
Goat welfare receives far less regulatory attention than cattle or pigs despite the enormous number of goats farmed globally. Disbudding without analgesia — the removal of horn tissue from kids using a hot iron — causes acute and post-procedural pain that is entirely preventable: local anesthesia and NSAIDs are effective and inexpensive. Dairy goat operations that push production through high-concentrate diets without adequate browsing opportunity create metabolic stress and behavioral frustration. Social stability matters profoundly to goats: frequent regrouping causes stress and aggression that increases injury risk. Provision of browsing material, climbing structures, and stable social groups dramatically improves welfare at minimal cost. Higher-welfare goat production is achievable and economically competitive with conventional systems.