Dogs evolved to follow our gaze because we needed them to be good hunting dogs, but we’ve never had any social need from goats apart from their meat and milk. Goats are as smart as dogs, horses and babies. These wonderful artiodactyls are highly intelligent and easy to train. It is not for nothing that experienced shepherds at all times put a goat at the head of the flock.

New research suggests that like dogs, goats also seek to develop social relationships with us. Are goats about to join dogs and dolphins on the too clever/too cute to eat list? So perhaps we should stop eating them …

The goat is also man’s best friend