Welfare challenges specific to dairy goat production, an expanding global industry where goat-specific needs are sometimes overlooked in bovine-centric welfare frameworks.
Dairy goat welfare is often considered less critically than dairy cow welfare despite sharing many of the same fundamental concerns. Kid separation is as distressing for goats as for cattle — vocalisation studies confirm acute distress in separated dams and kids. The browsing needs of goats are distinctively different from cattle or sheep: goats evolved to eat a varied diet including woody plants and browse, and confinement on pasture or in barns without browse opportunity is behaviourally frustrating. Foot health, housing quality, and social management all significantly affect goat welfare outcomes. As the dairy goat industry expands to meet consumer demand for alternative dairy products, ensuring that welfare standards develop alongside production growth is a priority.