Mr. Pilkington is the owner of Foxwood, a farm near Animal Farm. He is introduced as “an easy-going gentleman farmer who spent most of his time in fishing or hunting according to the season” (Chapter 4). In other words, he is more interested in doing what he enjoys than in running his farm. As a result, Foxwood is “neglected, old-fashioned” (Chapter 4).

Within Animal Farm’s allegory of Soviet Communism, Foxwood represents the United Kingdom, and Mr. Pilkington represents the British ruling class. Animal Farm therefore suggests that Britain is an old-fashioned country, badly run by self-serving aristocrats. This criticism of Britain’s rulers deepens when Mr. Pilkington eats dinner with the pigs in the novella’s final chapter. Mr. Pilkington congratulates Napoleon on his cruel efficiency. He jokes: “If you have your lower animals to contend with […] we have our lower classes!” (Chapter 10). This moment crystallizes the novella’s argument that Soviet totalitarianism and British capitalism are essentially the same: cruel and exploitative.