Overweight birds landed firm in court
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• The problem of assessing the weight of live fowls resulted in an overloading charge against P. Morris and Co, of Busby. The method of judging weight had been altered since that conviction said Mr Peter Morris, appearing in Glasgow under Section 69 last week. As poultry processors, the firm operated one heavy vehicle with lighter vehicles used to collect live poultry from areas around Busby. The larger vehicle had been stopped at Dumfries and again at Falkirk, overloaded, and pleas of guilty had been tendered.
The normal policy had been to weigh the empty vehicle with crates and to assess the number of live birds which might be carried. Variations in body weight could alter the total load substantially but they had estimated a normal load of 3000 birds. They now insisted that farmers gave body weights and now based loads on permitted total load rather than number of birds. There had been no instance of overloading since this change Was made. An agent for the operators said that Mr Morris did not know a lot about haulage work, which was ancillary to his main work, but was willing to learn and anxious to meet the legal requirements. He gave an undertaking that records would be kept and that inspection periods would be shortened from three-monthly to twomonthly intervals. Mr H. R. Aylmer, deputy LA, said Mr Morris now realized what was involved but it was necessary to take cognisance of the overloading convictions and he would be lenient and suspend one vehicle for one week, the first week in January.