STOCK DRIVING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 34, 21 December 1945, Page 8

STOCK DRIVING

LIABILITY rX>R DAMAGE A matter of general interest to farmers came before the Executive of the N.Z. Farmers' Union (Auck* land Province.) at its last when a legal reply to a question forwarded by the Pollok Branch was received. The question was: Who is responsible for the damage done to stock while being driven from farm to salcyards the owner of the stock or the company who was employing the drovers. To this Messrs Sexton, Manning and Fortune replied: "This is a general question which «an only be answered in a general way. In the first place,, regarding employment of drovers we do not think that when a farmer rings up a stock company or its agents, and asks for certain stock to be taken to the saleyards, that the stock company can be regarded as tlie ; employer of the drover. The company acts as agents for the farmer in employing the drover to handle the stock. This being the farmer and not the company, is responsible for any damage done to stock. The drover on his part, is bound not to drive the stock negligently and it should be remembered that the driving of stock along a road is a normal use of that road and neither the farmer nor the drover will be liable for damage arising out of the driving of the stock, unless that driving is negligent in one way or another."