This questionnaire will be circulated both within the UK and internationally, to seek a range of experiences with the procedure of disbudding goat kids.
All questionnaire responses will be strictly anonymous and will be used only to inform the Goat Veterinary Societies consultation, individual responses will not be passed on to third parties – GVS will not be able to identify any questionnaire respondents. It is hoped that the results of this questionnaire will enable us to better understand the attitudes and opinions of those involved in making decisions on farm whether to disbud or not, as well as the factors that influence these decisions and whether they are wider lessons the goat sector can act upon to improve the welfare of this species.
The GVS will present the collated findings at our summer conference in June 2025, where we will also facilitate an open discussion panel on the subject of disbudding to try and take the conversation further.
This questionnaire is open to ANYONE associated with disbudding goats – veterinarians, farmers, nurses, smallholders, pet goat owners.
The deadline for submitting responses to this questionnaire is 30/04/25.
Please note the questionnaire can only be answered once per respondent and answers cannot be altered after submission. The questionnaire is in online Google Forms format only, please ensure you have correctly submitted the form by completing all pages to reach a final page that says ‘Your response has been recorded’.