Human perception of goats’ vocal expression of emotions

This study investigated the human ability to recognise emotions expressed by goats (Capra hircus) through their vocalizations, with the aim of improving animal welfare and the human-goat relationship. To this end, we conducted an online survey in which participants listened to goat vocalizations inferable to four emotional contexts (Pre-partum labour – PPL-; Mother-kid separation – MKS-; Mother-kid reunion – MKR+; Waiting for feed – WFF+) and described them using qualitative indicators. Participants (n = 290) correctly recognized the emotional valence of vocalizations (negative for PPL- and MKS-; positive for MKR+ and WFF+; Chi-square test: p < 0.001 in all cases) and correctly assigned vocalizations above the chance level (>25 %) for 3 out of 4 emotional contexts (Chi-square test: p < 0.001 for PPL-, MKS- and WWF+), with a higher recognition rate for negative than for positive contexts, probably due to their greater differentiation in terms of acoustic parameters, also with regard to the level of arousal. The recognition of the emotional valence of the vocalizations was confirmed by the consistent way in which participants qualitatively described these sounds. The logistic regression analysis (stepwise backward multiple regression method, with an input and output significance of 0.2) allowed the identification of the most important factors that, in combination with the other factors, affect the human ability to assign goat vocalizations to each correct context of emission. In all the four contexts, experience with goats significantly entered the models (people with frequent direct contact with goats were more likely to assign bleats to the correct context of emission than people who were unfamiliar with these animals). This suggests the importance of stockpeople training in both farming and recreational settings. The study also suggests that people with higher levels of empathy can better recognise the emotional content of goat bleats, although further investigation is required to confirm this finding. • Humans identified goat calls' emotional context better than expected by chance. • Unexpectedly, humans classified valence of vocalizations better than arousal. • Negative emotional contexts were recognized more accurately than positive ones. • Familiarity with goats improved people’s ability to classify their vocalizations. • Empathetic individuals better recognized emotions in goats’ vocal expressions.