Dairy goats are farmed globally for milk, cheese, and yoghurt, with distinctive welfare needs that differ from dairy cattle. Goat welfare has received less policy attention than cattle but involves significant welfare challenges.
Dairy goat welfare is compromised at multiple production stages. Disbudding without pain relief causes acute suffering that is entirely preventable with local anaesthesia and post-operative analgesia. Kid separation causes several days of intense distress and denied bonding that is increasingly being reconsidered in some markets through extended suckling systems. Parasite management is a persistent challenge: barber pole worm causes chronic anaemia and debilitation in inadequately managed flocks, and anthelmintic resistance is growing. Housing for dairy goats must accommodate their need to climb and express natural agility, and many indoor systems with flat concrete floors fail this requirement. Welfare standards for goats are improving but remain less developed than for cattle in most countries.