Rounding - up livestock cowboys
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• The fight to exclude cowboy operators from all sectors of road haulage has been given fresh impetus by the Government's move to ban rogue livestock hauliers.
Both the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association plan to use last week's announcement
from Agriculture Minister Jack Cunningham to lever the soonto-be combined Department of Environment and Transport into similar sanctions for all truck operators. Cunningham announced that from 1 July livestock hauliers who persistently break the law will lose their licences to carry animals. "If you can penalise livestock
hauliers then you can penalise other hauliers," says John Chapman, operations director at the RHA. "The whole industry is dragged down by the cowboys—whether they're carrying sheep or Biros." If the Government eases the criteria for the removal of 0licences it will require a change in law. A Traffic Commissioner can revoke a licence if the holder does not fulfil the requirements of good repute, financial standing or professional competence.