Sheep like smiles

A BBC News article says that sheep like smiles.
They prefer a smiling human (or a happy sheep) face above a stressed one.

Of course sheep like smiles! (I should know)

Sheep can recognise emotions in facial expression, not only in their species but also in humans, researchers say.

The Cambridge researchers made this conclusion from observing sheep that had the choice for 2 doors with food behind it. Door 'smiling face' or door 'angry face'. They chose the smiling door of course.

Stupid research? Nope. They have proven before that sheep can recognize over 150 (sheep) faces and remember them for 2 years. Thus: sheep are considered the most dumb of all farm animals, but are still smarter than we thought.

For recognizing faces you need certain analytical capacities. But recognizing the different emotional expressions in faces requires much more subtle analysis and emotional concepts. And sheep have'm all.

Sheep are far more intelligent and have more emotional capacities then you might think. (they can even create weblogs)

So, to make a better world, greet your neighbour on the streets and give a smile to his sheep!