Location: Smallwood, Cheshire, CW11 2XA

Business type: Venue

Business website: bluebellsmallwood.co.uk/

Date listed: February 2, 2025

“The Blue Bell resides within the picturesque small village of Smallwood…Under the new ownership of The Pear Hospitality Group, we invite you to experience our freshly curated menus that celebrate local flavours and ingredients.” Running a business is all about making choices, and the multi-venue-owning Pear Hospitality Group who run the Blue Bell took the decision to welcome the Cheshire Forest Hunt in early January 2025 as reported by Wildlife Action Cheshire. As criticism piled up in the comments on Wildlife Action Cheshire’s Facebook page, Managing Director Jake Pear took another decision – to try to mollify the critics with what he fondly imagined was a ‘reasonable’ response: “When we took over the pub last year, we knew that the hunt was a controversial topic. We made the decision to treat them as we would treat any other guest. They arrived wanting food and drinks, this is what we do. We haven’t got any involvement in the organising or with the group itself. I understand your views on this completely, I just thought I would try and put our position across. We are a family operated company, just trying our best to stay out of the debate and simply do our jobs.” As many people told Mr Pear, and we are telling him again here, once you bother to learn about so-called ‘trail hunting’ there is NO neutral position on hunting. You have to decide whether you are either pro-hunt or pro-wildlife – and by hosting a hunt, you are de facto supporting hunting. Besides which, as almost everyone will tell you, the disingenuous ‘just doing our jobs’ argument was discredited many, many years ago.

Links to further information

Credits

Information provided by a supporter (thank you). Screenshot Wildlife Action Cheshire.

Listing is to inform choice only. By listing a business we are not suggesting or implying that the business is acting unlawfully. We are not asking for a boycott of the business. If you wish to contact the business please do so politely. We are a non-violent organisation and making threats, intimidating or harassing individuals is never acceptable under any circumstances and may lead to prosecution.

Listing is to inform choice only. By listing a business we are not suggesting or implying that the business is acting unlawfully. We are not asking for a boycott of the business. If you wish to contact the business please do so politely. We are a non-violent organisation and making threats, intimidating or harassing individuals is never acceptable under any circumstances and may lead to prosecution.