Outraged residents are planning to hold a protest this weekend against the renaming of 'the Black Bitch' pub by a major brewery.
The historic boozer, in Linlithgow, West Lothian, is being renamed by Greene King over fears the pub's name may be perceived to be racist.
The pub will be renamed The Willow Tree following a public consultation by the brewer in long-running wrangle.
The Black Bitch pub dates back to the 17th century and the name referenced a local legend of a black, female greyhound that features on the town's heraldic crest after it brought food to its owner who was imprisoned on an island on Linlithgow Loch.
Greene King's original proposal in November to rename the pub The Black Hound was met with anger, with a community buyout planned by campaigners and support for the campaign from local politicians and West Lothian Council.
A protest is due to be held at Linlithgow Cross on Saturday by the action committee to save Black Bitch.
Campaigners branded the move an "insult" and a "vendetta", and claimed the town's heritage was being "defamed".
Alistair Old from the committee said: "We're appalled at Greene King's refusal to accept the massive and widespread opposition to changing the historic name Black Bitch on our pub in what clearly has become a vendetta against the overwhelming support. to keep the historic name of the pub.
"Greene King created three new names and sent these names to the original protesting organisations asking them to pick a new name.
"Every organisation that was contacted, there weren't many, wrote back to say they rejected the names and wished the Black Bitch name to be retained.
"Greene King then made the choice themselves, they ironically picking the name the Willow Tree.
"The tree was indeed planted in 1832 to commemorate the Reform bill being passed in Parliament.
"Benjamin Greene, their founding slave owner, was a fanatical opponent of the reform bill and fought against the will of the people to improve democracy.
"Linlithgow celebrated the power of democracy in 1832.
"This company continues to pretend that they have some sort of mandate to proclaim that the historic name of the Black Bitch is racist and offensive; when nearly 12,000 people have signed a petition telling them they are wrong.
"West Lothian Council has asked them to stop defaming the town's heritage, but the removal of the name sends out that exact message.
"Greene King say in their press release that it was never their intention to cause upset in Linlithgow or disrespect the town's heritage.
"This is exactly what they are doing by removing the name of the town's famous Black Greyhound Bitch, stating it is offensive and racist.
"The action committee will be meeting shortly and will be consulting with the larger community on what appropriate action to take in the face of this appalling insult to the town of Linlithgow."
Greene King CEO Nick Mackenzie said: "Changing the pub's name has been something we've been considering for some time and I'd like to thank people who've written to us to offer their views.
"There's been plenty of publicity around those who don't agree with our decision, but we've also had letters of support from people in Linlithgow.
"This is a difficult balance and throughout this we have continued to highlight our respect for the history of Linlithgow.
"Our decision is not meant to diminish or denigrate the heritage of the town but at the same time we recognise that language has changed and the name can be extremely offensive to people.
"Our commitment to changing the name is unwavering, as we strongly believe it is the right thing to do for our teams and our customers, but we do understand why our original idea to just change the one word on the sign from Bitch to Hound was not well-received by all.
"It was done with the best of intentions to retain the spirit of the story, but we've listened to people who felt it would impact negatively on the town's emblem.
"We're pleased therefore to be instead changing it to The Willow Tree, which retains links to the town's heritage, and look forward to this next chapter of the pub's history."
