Animal rights campaigners in France are celebrating after a wild boar facing the threat of death was allowed to stay with its owner, reports BBC News.
The boar, named Rillette, was found in 2023 as a piglet by Elodie Cappé on her horse-breeding smallholding in Chaource, central France, after apparently being abandoned by its mother.
Local authorities had refused Ms Cappé the permission required to keep a wild animal. Unable to find a sanctuary to take Rillette, she faced the possibility of having to get it euthanised.
A French court has now ruled the authority's decision must be re-examined.
Ms Cappé's husband thought it was a joke when she came home with the baby boar on 1 April - April Fool's Day - which she then raised.
She told the BBC she had initially tried to release Rillette back into the wild, but the boar came running back.
"She's happy here," Ms Cappé said.
Wild boars can carry diseases and cause a nuisance to farmers because of their size. Weighing between 60-100kg, according to the Woodland Trust, they are capable of knocking down fences, damaging fields and killing livestock.
While attacks on humans are rare, wild boars have increasingly been spotted roaming towns and cities across Europe - prompting officials to authorise culls in several countries.
When Ms Cappé's local authority refused her permission to keep the wild animal - and unable to find a sanctuary that would take the sizeable beast - she faced two options.
She could give the boar to a woman who trained animals for films for profit, or Rillette would be euthanised - neither of which she wanted to happen.
Ms Cappé described Rillette - whom she cuddles and strokes - as her "best friend".
"We both play a lot. I learn a lot of things. She knows how to sit [on command], lie down, play with dogs.