Carl, there is always a good chance that this little goat has come from somewhere also not abiding by either the law OR general goat welfare (eg. has the goat been CAE checked, wormed, vaccinated etc)
If the seller allowed your friend to take to a home without holding number it could mean he also didn't have one.
By law we have to complete a movement form which includes writing the holding numbers of both places on there - this was obviously not a priority in the same it seems
It is a pain but its for a very good reason I'm afraid