Zero graze dairy goat farming first came to our attention in the summer of 2008/2009 when we visited a farm in Whangarei and another in Cambridge . During these visits we learnt from a farm hand about how the goats are generally kept for about five years until their milk production drops off; at this time they are sent to be killed because feeding them is no longer profitable.

He also told us that many goats were killed before five years of age because they became lame as a result of their toes not being cut and living on a soft saw dust floor. When we visited two Waikato farms earlier this year we found that many of the pregnant goats had trouble putting weight on one or more of their legs.

The kids of these goats would have been taken from their mothers within 48 hours of being born and placed in sheds where they are fed on cows milk (it is cheaper you see). The male kids are generally sent to slaughter as they are not economical useful to the dairy industry. Many of the female goats will suffer the same fate with about 20 percent being retained to replace 20 percent of their mothers.

Like the cow dairy industry dairy goats mean nothing more than profit. As one industry website puts it ‘You can get a lot of milk out of a little goat!’.