Adorable Wild Boar Rillette Saved From Euthanasia After Worldwide Petition
Some of Rillette's supporters were quite famous, like actress Brigitte Bardot.
Published Jan. 16 2025, 2:43 p.m. ET
A pair of French rescuers became embroiled in a legal battle with authorities over their decision to adopt a wild boar. The boar, lovingly named Rillette, had been found as a tiny piglet. After unsuccessful bids at being released back into the wild, Rillette had been set to be euthanized when she was saved by two horse breeders.
Local authorities weren't happy with the arrangement and threatened to remove Rillette from her loving home, opting to instead put her back on the county's kill list. Rillette's story quickly went viral, prompting support from people worldwide.
You can find out the fate of the wild boar named Rillette below, including what her family did to try and keep her safe.
One family's campaign to save wild board Rillette rose to international fame.
Rillette's plight made headlines after her rescuers shared the details of her story with news outlets. They told Reuters how they first discovered the wild boar in April 2023, when she was just a baby. Rillette was hanging out by the trashcans outside the horse farm Élodie Cappé runs in Chaource, France.
After Cappé couldn't find a rescue organization to take Rillette, she decided to build the animal a small enclosure where she could spend the remainder of her days in peace.
“We tried to find her a place in an animal park but nobody wanted her," Cappé told a local television station, according to The Guardian. "Now she’s one of us. She lives in the stables, has her own basket and sleeps in the hay. She’s really like a dog and comes when she’s called — better than our dogs."
Unfortunately, once local authorities found out that Cappé was keeping the boar on her property, they intervened and told her that she must release or surrender the animal.
While she tried to negotiate with the authorities — Reuters notes that they threatened her with prison time as well as a fine that could've gone as high as $150,000 — Cappé took her fight public and asked for help to save her beloved family member.
Folks rallied behind her, and The Guardian says she had a petition signed by over 170,000 people, including notable names like France's own Brigitte Bardot.
This is not the first instance of wild boars being rescued or adopted.
Fortunately, Rillette's story has a happy ending, and Reuters reports that a French court has ruled that Rillette can stay with her family.
Her story is surprisingly common. In February 2024, a Belgian couple rescued a wild boar they named Oscar, who the pair told Reuters they brought into their home and potty trained, making him the perfect addition to their family.
It's ideal for these creatures to be back in the wild where they belong, but when it comes to animals who cannot be released, it's good to see that they've found loving homes where they can be well cared for and safe.