Joy when a wild boar facing death is allowed to stay with its owner

Animal rights activists in France are celebrating after a domesticated wild boar facing death threats was allowed to stay with its owner.

The wild boar, named Rillette, was found in 2023 as a piglet by Elodie Cappé on her small horse breeding property in Chaource, central France, after apparently being abandoned by its mother.

The local authorities denied Ms. Cappé the necessary permit to keep a wild animal. Unable to find a sanctuary to house Rillette, he faced the possibility of having to euthanize her.

A French court has now ruled that the authority’s decision must be re-examined.

Cappé’s husband thought it was a joke when she came home with the wild boar on April 1, April Fool’s Day, which she later raised.

She told the BBC that she had initially tried to release Rillette into the wild, but the wild boar ran back.

“She’s happy here,” Cappé said.

Wild boars can transmit diseases and cause inconvenience to farmers due to their size. Weighing between 60 and 100kg, according to the Woodland Trust, they are capable of knocking down fences, damaging fields and killing livestock.

While attacks on humans are rare, wild boars have increasingly been seen roaming towns and cities across Europe, prompting authorities to authorize culls in several countries.

When Ms Cappé’s local authority denied her permission to keep the wild animal, and she was unable to find a sanctuary that would house the enormous beast, she was faced with two options.

She could give the boar to a woman who trained animals for movies for profit, or Rillette would be euthanized, neither of which she wanted to happen.

Cappé described Rillette, whom he hugs and caresses, as his “best friend.”

“We both play a lot. I learn a lot. She knows how to sit (on command), lie down and play with dogs.

“She joins us for horseback riding. She sleeps with the dogs. She’s a clown! She spends the day doing silly things to play.”

However, keeping the boar meant Cappé risked a three-year jail sentence and a €150,000 (£127,000) fine.

His appeal before a French court attracted worldwide attention. He said he received calls from Germany, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada and the United States while fighting the case.

Rillette’s story has drawn comparisons to a case in the United States last year, in which a domesticated squirrel named Peanut had a large following on social media. was put down by the authorities, sparking outrage.

In France, animal rights activist and film star Brigitte Bardot joined the campaign to save Rillette.

A court in the nearby town of Châlons-en-Champagne has ruled that authorities must reconsider Ms. Cappé’s original request.

He also ordered them to pay him 15,000 euros (£12,700) in damages, according to Reuters.

The judge stated that “although the capture of live wild boars in the wild is in principle prohibited, the prefect still has the power to authorize it.”

Ms. Cappé was elated when her lawyer told her the decision: “I started having fun, I screamed very loudly because I was very happy.”

She said she was going to buy a cake and drink champagne, and explained that cake, along with apples, are one of her pet’s favorite foods.

Additional reporting by Aleks Phillips