The team has also demonstrated that goatscan work out how to break into a sealed box using levers, a task used to gauge intelligence in apes. They can even remember the skill four years later without prompting.

“Goats gaze at humans in the same way as dogs do when asking for a treat that is out of reach,” said Dr Christian Nawroth, one of the study’s authors.

“Our results provide strong evidence for complex communication directed at humans in a species that was domesticated primarily for agricultural production, and show similarities with animals bred to become pets or working animals, such as dogs and horses.” 

Goats were the first livestock species to be domesticated, about 10,000 years ago. There are 100,000 goats in Britain, and a billion worldwide, but until recently they have been considered no more intelligent than sheep.

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.

Scientists had thought that dogs and cats could connect with humans due to changes to their brains over thousands of years as companion animals.

But goats were domesticated around 10,000 years ago so have had plenty of time to interact with humans.  Unlike sheep, which were domesticated later, they are perfectly happy outside a flock.

In the most recent experiment the team trained goats to remove a lid from a box to receive a reward. In the final test they made the box impossible to open and recorded the goat’s reaction.

The bemused goats turned towards their owners in a pleading manner, clearly asking for help in getting to the treat. They were also seen to gaze for longer when the person conducting the experiment was looking at them, compared to when they had turned away. (Goats milk for kittens)

The research was carried out at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats in Kent.