A pig has been hailed as a real-life Babe after learning to obey orders usually barked out to sheepdogs.

The New Zealand Kuni Kuni, named Sue, is said to have astounded visitors to the Barton Hill Animal Centre near Kentchurch, Herefordshire, by clambering through tunnels, shaking hands by "giving his trotter" and performing a figure of eight on demand.

Owner Wendy Scudamore said the pig was named after the Johnny Cash song "A Boy Named Sue" owing to an unfortunate incident at the vets aged two months when he was accidentally castrated.

"Sue has not done any sheepdog training, but he does a lot of things and I imagine he would be trainable as a sheepdog," she said.

"He certainly does a dog agility course without any trouble.

"He twists and turns in both directions, he gives his trotter and he does cones, the tunnel and ramps.

"Everybody is always amazed, but personally I'm not because I have kept pigs for years and I know they really want to learn."

Mrs Scudamore said that Sue may be entered in a sheep agility event at a forthcoming agricultural show, but she stressed that she would not train him to follow the path trodden by Babe in the 1995 film.

"He's not destined for that with me," she said.

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