Johne's disease (paratuberculosis) causes progressive wasting in dairy goats, with significant welfare impacts that require herd-level control programmes.
Advanced Johne's disease causes severe chronic wasting, weakness and diarrhoea causing significant suffering before death. Welfare priorities include implementing biosecurity to prevent introduction to clean herds, testing and culling of positive animals early before clinical disease develops, colostrum management to prevent kid infection, and providing palliative care for clinically affected animals.