Historic Jamaica Inn bans hunts after 100 years

An inn immortalised by novelist Daphne du Maurier has banned hunts from meeting on its land.

The Jamaica Inn in Cornwall said it had allowed the local hunt to start from there for more than 100 years.

It has ended that arrangement after the East Cornwall Hunt invited the Beaufort Hunt to meet there on Saturday, a move it called "extremely ill-advised".

Both hunts claim the venue, its staff and customers have been targeted by "activists" online.

The pub and hotel at Bolventor on Bodmin Moor was the setting for the book of the same name, about smuggling in the 19th century.

Owner Allen Jackson said after the hunts met on Saturday "hundreds and hundreds of people, seemingly reasonable and rational, were telling us they were anti the hunt".

"These were not extreme views but reasonable views," he said.

"We have always lost money because some people won't come here because of the association with hunts. There are no pluses, all we get is minuses. They never spent any money here - they never came in.

"The hunting fraternity want to make it seem we have been browbeaten and bullied into this decision but it is nothing like that whatsoever."

He said some people had cancelled hotel and restaurant bookings since Saturday, because of the link with hunting.

Chris Luffingham, director of external affairs at The League Against Cruel Sports said: "We welcome this move by the landlord to ban hunts from his pub - it ties in with the mood of the general public, the vast majority of whom are sick and tired of this cruel and barbaric activity."

He also called on "more businesses across the UK to enhance their ethical credentials by breaking all ties to fox hunts".

In a post on Facebook, the Jamaica Inn said it had never supported hunting, but had allowed "hunts to start from the inn because of the 100-year tradition of doing so".

It said: "Last Saturday the local hunt invited the Beaufort Hunt to join their usual modest gathering which the owner sees as extremely ill-advised.

"Taking this fully into account and the passionate views of some of the inn's customers the owner has decided to no longer allow any future hunt at Jamaica Inn."

More than 1,000 comments have been made on the post, largely from people supporting the move.

The Beaufort Hunt said the decision was "a result of activists targeting a rural business and attacking their customer base".

It added: "We hope the hunting community continues to show support for this local business as they have done for many years."

The East Cornwall Hunt said it understood there had been "an orchestrated attempt online to intimidate pub staff" by "anti-hunt fanatics".

It said this included sending "abusive comments and fake negative reviews which can be overwhelming for those on the receiving end. Frankly it's bullying.

"The reality is, our hunt has, for many years, worked with successive teams at the pub to ensure an orderly day and this occasion was no different."

Its spokesperson added it had "nothing but gratitude for the pub and it's hardworking staff and hope to work with them in the future again".

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