Goats farmed for milk, meat, and fiber face welfare challenges including inappropriate housing, inadequate social management, painful routine procedures, and insufficient veterinary care in many production systems.
Goat welfare encompasses a broad range of issues across production systems and regions. In intensive dairy systems, welfare concerns parallel those of dairy cattle: repeated pregnancies, early removal of kids, and high milk production demands that can compromise body condition. Disbudding is one of the most acute welfare concerns — the procedure is routinely performed on young kids, often without effective local anaesthesia, causing significant acute pain. Internal parasite management is a chronic welfare challenge in many grazing systems; untreated worm burdens cause anaemia, weight loss, and death. Goats' natural curiosity and agility means enrichment through browsing opportunities, climbing structures, and varied terrain significantly improves welfare in intensive systems. Kids removed from mothers immediately after birth are deprived of colostrum and social learning unless carefully managed. Welfare standards for goats often lag behind those for cattle and sheep, making advocacy for improved goat-specific standards particularly important.