Neil Pinkerton, an Irish animal hunter who glorifies killing wild animals with dogs, was among a group of Northern Irish men who travelled to Scotland on July 25 to join an anti-immigration event branded “Protect Our Women and Children”. The gathering in Glasgow saw masked figures make Nazi salutes and shout “get them out”, leading to 15 arrests.
Urban Hunter and Far-Right Activist
Pinkerton, 38, is known as an “urban hunter” who posts videos and photos of his dogs covered in blood after underground fights with foxes, which appeared to have been slaughtered for fun. He captioned one photo: “One’s going to feel this in the morning, one’s not”. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where hunting with dogs is still legal, although causing unnecessary suffering remains illegal.
Pinkerton has also been a leader of a street vigilante group that patrolled parts of East Belfast. Similar patrols have since emerged in Glasgow, including the Scots Active night patrol, where men wear stab-proof vests and make videos about safety. Campaigners say these groups claim to protect women and homeless people but focus on seeking out immigrants, some of whom have been harassed.
Links to Loyalist Figures
Pinkerton joined close friends Mark Sinclair, a former UVF bank robber, and Glen Kane, a sectarian killer, on a boozy night out in Glasgow. Sinclair, 56, is a self-confessed former UVF member from the Shankill area of west Belfast. In 2003, he was jailed for 18 years for robbing three Clydesdale Bank branches in Troon, Stewarton and Dalbeattie. Kane, 60, was jailed for nine years for manslaughter after the sectarian killing of Catholic man Kieran Abram in Belfast in July 1992. He now goes by “Mr X” on social media and has admitted to being a former member of the British National Party (BNP).
Kane wore a “Stop the Boats” t-shirt on the night out. On social media, Sinclair claims his mission is to raise awareness in his own country of the extreme damage done to Scotland by multiculturalism.
Reactions and Concerns
A spokesperson for the End Deportations Belfast group, which has monitored rising far-right activity in the city, said: “Neil Pinkerton is a violent racist who terrorised migrant and POC communities in Belfast for simply existing, under the guise of vigilantism. He has willingly posted photos of his own animal cruelty online, like some badge of honour.”
Mohammed Asif, of Stand Up to Racism, said the rise of vigilante groups is a major threat to Scotland. He said: “It is clear that there are people who wish to promote and establish such groups, where the main intention is to intimidate immigrants or groups who are already marginalised. They want to spread fear and state their claim to be more entitled and superior to the people they seek out to abuse. There are laws in place to stop people being harassed but I believe that a specific charge should be created to ban the formation of groups that conduct themselves in this way.”
The anti-immigration protests in Scotland have generally attracted more counter-protesters. Demonstrations in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Perth and Falkirk have centred on “asylum hotels”, but in several instances local anger has been inflamed by claims later found to be false.
