She was found rummaging around the bins among rotting vegetables, and feeding off the scraps and waste at her adopted home.

But Rillette the wild boar has become something of a cause célèbre in her native France, garnering hundreds of thousands of fond followers around the world.

A threat by local authorities to put her down has led to a furious backlash, a protest ballad and a campaign taken up by none other than Brigitte Bardot, the actress and animal rights campaigner.

The campaign is set to culminate in a silent march against overzealous public health officials with her snout in their targets.

Discovered as an orphan, Rillette was taken in by a local horse breeder but officials say she is a disease risk and must be culled.

A petition to save Rillette has attracted more than 173,810 signatures since its launch in early December.

“What monsters are asking for her euthanasia? The word ‘human’ disgusts me,” Ms Bardot declared in a hand-written note published online.

“This little animal has the right to live, it’s even a duty, she’s innocent,” Euthanasia is a crime! We are governed by murderers!”