Wild boar adopted as piglet threatened with euthanasia in France
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French horse breeder Elodie Cappe with Rillette, a wild boar she rescued as a piglet in 2023, at her farm in Chaource, France, on Jan 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CHAOURCE, France – Animal rights campaigners in France are fighting to save a wild boar adopted as a piglet by a horse breeder but now threatened with being put down if her owner does not send her to a specialised sanctuary.
A French court is set to rule in coming days on the fate of Rillette, who was found as a tiny piglet outside the horse farm of Ms Elodie Cappe in Chaource, central France, in April 2023.
Now a big sow with a bristly brown coat, Rillette strolls around between the horses and dogs on the farm and enthusiastically kicks around a big plastic ball with her snout.
“I do not know how she sees me. Maybe I am her mother, maybe her best friend, or just her protector, but as you can see there is a link of love between us,” Ms Cappe said as she hugged Rillette in the hay and kissed her on the snout.
Ms Cappe says Rillette is no longer a wild animal and that two attempts to set her free have failed miserably as the boar immediately ran back to her owners.
Ms Elodie Cappe says two attempts to set Rillette free have failed miserably as the boar immediately ran back to her owners.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“Rillette has no link whatsoever with her own species. If we release her in the woods, she will sit in middle of the road and run to the first human she sees,” she said.
The authorities’ attempts to remove the boar on health and safety grounds have whipped up a storm of protest in France.
Over the weekend, hundreds of people in the area marched behind a “Free Rillette” banner, while animal rights campaigner and movie icon Brigitte Bardot posted on X: “I ask that Rillette be saved... Who are the monsters who want to euthanise her?”.
Rillette’s owner says she will fight to save her. “All will depend on the magistrate’s decision, but it could come down to euthanasia, and I will not let that happen,” said Ms Cappe, who risks three years in jail for failing to comply.
She said that Rillette – jokingly named after a regional dish of shredded pork – is sterilised and vaccinated and poses no danger to the public as she is confined to the farm.
“Why would they take her away, since she is happy here and does not bother anyone?” she asked. REUTERS
