French family finally wins right to keep adopted fox | Inquirer News

French family finally wins right to keep adopted fox

/ 03:05 PM January 24, 2014

Raising a wild animal without special authorization is illegal in France. DPA/AFP

BORDEAUX—A French family has finally got permission to keep a young fox they had rescued after its mother was crushed by a car, following a marathon legal battle.

The saga of the little fox, named Zouzou, had made headlines in France and even prompted a support page on Facebook after the Delanes family was ordered to hand over the animal and pay a 300-euro ($409) fine.

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In France, raising a wild animal without special authorization is against the law.

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The National Office of Hunting and Wild Animals found out about Zouzou and began legal proceedings against its keepers back in 2011.

But Anne-Paul Delanes told AFP the family had just “received a special authorization permitting us to keep Zouzou until his death,” from the local prefecture in France’s southwestern Dordogne region.

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Anne-Paul and her husband Didier had earlier paid the fine and then kept Zouzou hidden for fear the authorities might confiscate their pet.

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“He is more affectionate than a dog,” Anne-Paul Delanes told AFP. “When he sees us, he rolls on the ground and yelps with joy.”

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Didier Delanes had found the cub in 2010 along the side of the road lying under its dead mother, which had been run over by a car. He took the fox home and the family raised it as a pet.

Zouzou will be four years old in March.

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TAGS: Delanes, Fox, France, Pet, wildlife, Zouzou

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