Goats in extensive farming systems face welfare challenges including inadequate shelter, nutritional deficiency from browse-limited environments, and external parasite burdens that are frequently unmonitored.
Goat welfare in extensive systems is often assumed to be good because animals are outdoors, but outdoor access alone does not guarantee welfare. Goats that cannot browse adequately, that carry unsustainable worm burdens, or that lack shelter in cold wet weather experience significant welfare deficits. The assumption that goats are hardy and self-sufficient leads to undermonitoring that allows preventable welfare problems to become severe before detection.