International Campaign to Save a Wild Boar in France

The threat from local authorities in the town of Aube in eastern France to kill a wild boar has turned into an international campaign to save the animal, garnering support from hundreds of thousands, including Brigitte Bardot, the famous French cinema star. This boar, named Riette, was found in April 2023 by Alodie Cappe, a French farmer in the town of Chaurès. She saw the boar searching for food among the trash on her farm and contacted local authorities to find a shelter for the wild animal. However, after failing to find a park or shelter that would accept the boar, Cappe built a 1,200 square meter enclosure on her farm to keep Riette there. Ms. Cappe states, 'I contacted many organizations, but no one would take responsibility for this animal and they told me to put it down with a bullet.' She added, 'Now he is one of us. He lives in the stable, has his own place, sleeps among the hay, and like a dog, and even better, he comes to us when called.' However, local authorities have informed Alodie Cappe that keeping this wild animal is illegal and due to the risk of contagious diseases, it must be killed. Now, a support campaign to save the boar has formed, which has so far collected over 173,000 signatures. Brigitte Bardot, a star from the 1960s French cinema, is one of the signatories of this campaign. In a statement released in December 2024, Ms. Bardot declared her desire to save Riette's life. She wrote, 'This little animal has the right to live, and it is our duty to preserve its life. Killing him is a crime.' Local authorities in Aube have not retreated from their position and emphasize that this boar potentially carries diseases such as swine fever and bovine tuberculosis, posing risks to public health. The prosecutor of the Troyes region, where Aube is located, has stated that keeping a boar, which is considered a wild species, is unusual and illegal. He has ordered that Riette be placed in an appropriate shelter and that if Ms. Cappe does not comply with this order, the animal will be killed and she will face legal action. Previously, in December, the prosecutor had ordered Ms. Cappe to send the animal to a company that trains animals for film and television, but she refused to comply with this order. This is not the first time global attention has focused on a wild animal. In December, when local authorities in New York euthanized a famous squirrel named Peanut, social media users reacted widely. The owner of this squirrel had previously posted videos of it playing and eating, and the animal's Instagram account had over 500,000 followers.