Goats are intelligent, social animals farmed for milk, meat, and fibre, but welfare standards in goat production lag behind those for cattle and pigs, with painful disbudding and barren housing common in many systems.
Goats receive far less welfare research and policy attention than cattle, pigs, or poultry despite their large global population. The practice of disbudding without pain relief is one of the most widespread welfare failures in livestock production — well-established pain management protocols exist but are not required in most jurisdictions. Goats' intelligence and social complexity mean that isolation, barren environments, and lack of browsing opportunities cause genuine psychological suffering that is easy to overlook because goats are small and often managed in low-income contexts where welfare improvements are costly.