Updated

Irish farmer Declan Brennan has found the most unlikely kind of sheepdog – a drone. Brennan operated a Yuneec Q500 drone to herd his flock of sheep at Herondale, his Carlow, Ireland farm. In a YouTube video posted by Brennan’s brother Paul – who runs Skyfly Photography, which provides drone-shot aerial videos – viewers can get a bird’s-eye view of the flock being ushered around the lush farmland by the drone.

“Although he (Brennan) doesn’t do this every day, he has done it before quite easily (weather-dependent) and it is a very feasible idea,” Paul told CNET. “Ask any sheep farmer about trying to drive sheep from one field to another and he will tell you it’s a difficult job. So in this case Declan did a great job.”

Does this mean Lassie is out and Shep the drone – the name the brothers gave the flying robot – is in? Only time will tell.