As humans fret over the possibility of losing their jobs to robots, some animals may want to start looking for other work too. In New Zealand, farmers have begun replacing dogs with drones that can herd and monitor their livestock. The drone flies above a herd of sheep, cattle, or deer and projects a loud barking sound, encouraging the animals to move. It’s especially effective at herding fast-moving creatures, says Jason Rentoul of Wye Hills farm in Marlborough, New Zealand. It can also prevent trouble, as sometimes cattle will stand up to the dogs, but they tend to obey a drone. At Wye Hills, what takes two hours with two humans and four dogs takes a drone only 45 minutes. But although there are many advantages to the machines, farmers agree that they can’t do everything. “I think there will always be a need for dogs in some situations,” Rentoul says. Livestock can become desensitized to the drone, for starters; in those cases, dogs help keep things moving. “Dogs are very useful,” he adds, “and [unlike drones] they don’t crash.”