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Scientists have found that goats can recognise when people are happy and when people are angry.

Scientists showed goats pairs of photos of the same person - in one photo they had a happy expression and in the other they looked angry- and the goats made a beeline for the happy faces.

In the study which was carried out at the Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats in Kent, the researchers found that the goats spent more time examining the smiling faces with their snouts before looking at the angry photos.

Difference between left and right

The results were different when the happy photo was placed on the left-hand side instead of the right.

When it was on the left the goats treated both the happy and angry photos the same way.

The researchers think this is because the goats are using one side of their brain to process the information - something that's seen in other animals.

What does this show?

Scientists thought animals that have been around humans for years, like dogs and horses, were the only ones able to understand human facial expressions.

But the study, which was published in the journal Open Science, suggested animals like goats which are more likely to be found on farms, could also understand them.

Researchers think the study could be important for animal welfare if it shows that animals understand emotions more than they thought.

Co-author Dr Alan McElligott, from Queen Mary, University of London, said:

"The study has important implications for how we interact with livestock and other species, because the abilities of animals to perceive human emotions might be widespread and not just limited to pets."