Examining welfare in goat dairy production — the fastest growing dairy sector globally — from disbudding and kid management to housing and social needs.
Goat dairy welfare receives less research and regulatory attention than cow dairy despite involving tens of millions of animals globally and similar welfare challenges. Disbudding without pain relief, rapid kid separation, and confined housing without appropriate social and environmental complexity are common practices that cause preventable welfare harm. The welfare case for pain relief during disbudding is as strong as for any other livestock painful procedure — the acute pain response is well-documented and easily addressed with available analgesics. Kid management that considers the welfare of both the kid and the doe — including appropriate housing during the transitional period after separation — reduces distress without requiring the impractical alternative of abandoning separation entirely.