Dairy goat farming is growing globally for specialty cheese and milk production. Goats have strong social bonds and specific behavioural needs that present real welfare challenges in intensive systems.
Dairy goats experience welfare challenges that parallel those of dairy cattle, often with less regulatory protection and public awareness. The strong maternal bond between does and kids makes separation at birth acutely distressing. Disbudding without anaesthesia is a painful procedure performed routinely in many dairy goat systems. High-yielding does face metabolic pressure during late gestation and early lactation. Goats are curious, active animals that suffer in barren confinement — their intelligence and social nature means impoverished environments cause genuine psychological suffering. The relatively artisanal image of goat dairy products often masks intensive production systems with significant welfare deficits.