Logo row shell-shocks egg company

Spot the difference: the dragon and the lion logos

A free range egg producer in mid Wales has been threatened with legal action for using the traditional Welsh dragon on the front of its boxes.

The British Egg Industry Council (Beic) claims Birchgrove Eggs' logo is similar to its lion quality mark on its own.

Beic wants the firm, from Ceredigion, to increase the size of the dragon to avoid confusing consumers.

But Birchgrove Eggs said the Welsh dragon was an "integral" part of its business.

How can anyone, especially in Wales, mistake the national emblem of the dragon for a lion? Tony Burgess

Tony and Gwen Burgess, from Trawscoed, near Aberystwyth, who run the business with their son Daniel, are refusing to alter the logo, and are consulting their lawyers.

They said Beic also wanted them to remove or change the Welsh wording for free range, positioned underneath the dragon, on their egg boxes.

For 25 years, the family's 3,000 hens have produced eggs which have been sold around Wales.

But when they entered their product in a competition administered by Beic, they were surprised to receive a letter urging changes to their logo.

"They (Beic) accused us of using a griffin and not a dragon, and said the griffin was similar to their lion," said Mr Burgess.

One of the egg boxes complete with red dragon, at top right

"The dragon has been on our eggs for 25 years - none of the options proposed by Beic are being considered."

Mr Burgess said he had been given seven days to comply or Beic would issue legal proceedings.

He added: "How can anyone, especially in Wales, mistake the national emblem of the dragon for a lion?

"We were also given the option of changing the colour of the dragon, but how can we change the colour of the Welsh dragon?"

Beic said: "The British Egg Industry Council has lodged a complaint with Birchgrove Eggs regarding the use of a mark on their egg packs which is very similar to the lion quality logo.

"The lion logo is a registered trademark and can only be used on packs of eggs produced by subscribers to the British Egg Industry Council lion quality scheme.

"We clearly can have no objection to the use of the Welsh dragon per se, but in this instance the size, shape and colour of the Birchgrove dragon and the positioning of the words immediately underneath it could easily be mistaken for the Lion logo by consumers."