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

In 2023, Elodie Cappé discovered the wild boar, named Rillette, as a piglet on a small horse farm in Chaource, central France. Its mother abandoned it.

Local authorities refused Ms Capet the permission she needed to keep wild animals. Unable to find a shelter to take Rilet, she faced the possibility of having to euthanize her.

French courts have now ruled that the authorities' decision must be reviewed.

When Ms. Capet brought the baby boar home on April 1 (April Fool's Day), her husband thought it was a joke and she raised the baby.

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

“She’s happy here,” Ms. Cappe said.

Wild boars can carry diseases and cause problems for farmers because of their large size. They weigh between 60 and 100 kilograms and can knock down fences, damage fields and kill livestock, according to the Woodland Trust.

While attacks on humans are rare, wild boar are increasingly being spotted roaming towns across Europe, prompting officials in some countries to authorize cullings.

When Ms. Kape's local government refused to allow her to keep the wild animal and she was unable to find a sanctuary to house the massive beast, she was faced with two choices.

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

Ms Cappe described Rilett as her "best friend" who hugged and caressed her.

"We all played a lot. I learned a lot. She knew how to sit (on command), lie down, play with the dog.

"She rides horses with us. She sleeps with the dogs. She's a clown! She spends her days doing silly things for fun."

However, keeping the boar means Ms Capet risks three years in prison and a €150,000 (£127,000) fine.

Her appeal to a French court attracted worldwide attention. She said while working on the case, she received calls from Germany, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

Lillet's story has been compared to a case in the US last year in which a docile squirrel named Peanut gained a huge following on social media was suppressed by the authorities, causing public outcry.

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

A court in the nearby city of Chalons-Champagne has now ruled that authorities must reconsider Ms Capet's original application.

The court also ordered them to pay her €15,000 (£12,700) in compensation, Reuters reported.

The judge said that "although the capture of live wild boars in the wild is prohibited in principle, the provincial governor still has the authority to authorize it."

When her lawyer relayed the decision, Ms Cappe was ecstatic: "I started partying - I screamed because I was so happy."

She said she was going to buy a cake and drink champagne, explaining that both cake and apples were among her pets' favorite foods.

Additional reporting by Alex Phillips