A POPULAR pet bird auction has been forced to stop after the organisers were warned they were breaking the law.

The event was held at the village hall at Coxhoe, near Durham City, every other Sunday and drew visitors from across the region.

But Durham City Council warned that the sale of birds at temporary events is illegal under an animal welfare law and that it would take enforcement action if the auction did not stop.

The move has been welcomed by The Animal Protection Agency (APA), a group campaigning against such auctions, which alerted the council after its supporters attended the Coxhoe event.

APA director Elaine Toland said it was believed that birds such as canaries, budgerigars and finches were being sold.

She said that a 1983 amendment to The Pet Animals Act 1951 prohibited the sale of pets in public places and markets - they can only be held in licensed pet shops - because of concerns about the impact on animals' health and welfare.

"Although the birds might have food and water at these events, they face the stress of travelling to and from them. They also face the stress of the noise, being handled and being transferred from boxes to cages," she said.

"That can lower their immune system and make them more prone to disease.

"It is quite common at the events to have birds dying in their cages because of the stress they are under."

Miss Toland applauded the city council's action but said that APA was concerned that the Government was considering lifting the ban on temporary sales of pets.

A city council spokesman said the authority wrote to Coxhoe Village Hall Association after being contacted by APA, warning that the event was illegal.

Association chairman Fred Burn said it did not organise the event, which had been running for some years, but simply hired the hall out to a dealer.

"It was a lot of revenue for us, but the law is the law and we can't be seen to be breaking the law.

"It was very well attended and they came from all over the North-East.

"On a Sunday when it was on, you couldn't get parked down the Front Street.'