A TRADITIONAL charity goose auction at a pub has ruffled feathers after officials deemed cages used to house birds breached safety regulations.

The twice yearly auction, held for six hours a day, at the Gaggle of Geese pub in Buckland Newton near Dorchester has raised over £50,000 for good causes since it began 15 years ago.

But trading standards and Government officials have now cried "fowl" by ordering landlords Trevor and Jan Marpole to put roofs on the cages housing the birds, costing over £1,000 from funds earmarked for charity.

The couple have branded the ruling "crazy" and said they looked after the birds used for the auction, held behind their pub, by appointing a welfare officer for the event a number of years ago.

Mrs Marpole said: "This has really upset me and a lot of people who are involved in running the event. We work very hard raising money for charities, and this seems like a bit of a kick in the teeth."

Mrs Marpole said Dorset trading standards and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) visited the pub demanding, under the Welfare of Animals at Markets Order 1990, that the 500 cages be covered before their next auction on September 14.

"People bring the geese along on the day and we house them in around 500 cages for five or six hours every six months. To build shelters or buy gazebos will cost us a lot of money which could be going to charity.

"We've never received any complaints about the way the birds are treated, we even have a welfare officer on the day ensuring they are okay."

Mrs Marpole said she was unsure whether the officials had been tipped off ahead of their visit and said their next auction was unlikely to be under threat over the rulings.

"They seemed apologetic about the situation but said rules were rules. It's very short notice getting the covers we need now but we'll need to get them arranged in the long term if we want to carry on," she added.

The couple now hope to find sponsors to pay for the cost of the covering.

Over 4,000 people attended the Gaggle of Geese's last auction, raising £4,200 for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, and organisers expect similar figures next month.

Ian Bruce, veterinary officer with Defra, said: "I visited the pub and issued Mrs Marpole with a copy of her responsibilities under the Welfare of Animals at Markets Order."

Ivan Hancock, of Dorset Trading Standards, added: "The order is there to protect animals from the elements and applies no matter whether it's a big farm or small charity event such as this one."