In many countries, including Italy, and Germany the phrase “as stupid as a goat” is used as an insult.

However, co-author Dr Alan McElligott from Queen Mary’s Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology said the reputation was unfair.

“You can’t work with a sheep on its own,” he said, “People think they are the same, but they are very different animals. Anyone who has ever worked with both animals can tell you that.

“From our earlier research, we already know that goats are smarter than their reputation suggests, but these results show how they can communicate and interact with their human handlers even though they were not domesticated as pets or working animals.

“We know that in some areas goats are as intelligent as dogs, but there has been a lot more work done on dog behaviour and we are really just scratching the surface with goats.”

The stated aim of the research is to improve the animal's welfare.

“If we can show that they are more intelligent, then hopefully we can bring in better guidelines for their care,” Dr McElligott said.