A wild boar who was adopted by a French horse breeder his allowed to stay with her owner, a court has ruled, after threats by authorities to separate the pair and even euthanise the animal sparked a storm of international protest.
Found as a tiny piglet near garbage bins outside the horse farm of Elodie Cappe in Chaource, central France, in April 2023, “Rillette” has now grown into a large sow with a bristly brown coat who runs around between the horses and dogs on the farm and loves to cuddle with her owners.
After early attempts to release the boar back into the wild failed, Ms Cappe, who runs a riding stables in Chaource, had Rillette sterilised and vaccinated, provided her with an enclosure and put in several requests with the regional prefecture for authorisation to keep a non-domesticated animal.
The requests were all rejected, with local authorities threatening to confiscate or euthanise the animal, and Cappe facing potential prison time and a fine of up to €150,000 (£126,000) for “capturing or detaining wild animals”.
The case pushed animal rights campaigners into action, made headlines and sparked a petition and a local demonstration. Even film icon Brigitte Bardot pleaded to let Rillette stay on the farm.
— Brigitte Bardot (@brigitte_bardot) December 16, 2024
In an open letter published in December, the actor and animal activist wrote: “Help! I demand that Rillette be spared. What monsters are demanding she be put down … this little animal has the right to live, indeed it is a duty. She is innocent. Euthanasia is a crime! We are governed by assassins.”
Meanwhile, the petition to save Rillette was signed by almost 200,000 people across the world. It read: “This adorable boar is very close to humans and deserves to live in conditions as close to its natural habitat as possible. Although Mrs Cappé is doing her utmost to maintain these conditions, without increased support the future of our wild boar is uncertain.”
Now though, in a ruling published on Thursday, the Chalons-en-Champagne administrative tribunal ordered the prefecture to reconsider the application to keep the animal and ordered the state to pay €1,500 in damages to the hog's owner.
“This is a great victory, the court really wiped out the prefecture's arguments. The fact that we had the media behind us really made a difference,” Ms Cappe said, adding that she will donate the damages paid to a charity.
Ms Cappe said Rillette – jokingly named after a regional dish of shredded pork – was unfazed by the news.
“She is just playing, she does not care,” Ms Cappe said. “She belongs with us.”
