Dairy goat farming is growing in the UK as demand for goat milk products increases. Goats have specific social and environmental needs that commercial farming must address.
Dairy goat welfare shares many characteristics with dairy cattle welfare - the same questions of kid separation, disbudding pain, and the physical demands of high milk yield. Goats are particularly sensitive to environmental boredom - they are highly intelligent animals that suffer in barren indoor housing without exploration opportunities. Their browsing nature means flat pasture alone is insufficient; they need elevated platforms, brushing posts and varied substrates to meet behavioural needs. The growth of the goat dairy sector creates an opportunity to establish welfare standards from the outset, avoiding the welfare debts that accumulated in cattle and pig farming before regulatory attention caught up.