Zion Wildlife Gardens Zion Wildlife Gardens in Recievership

Why can I see this whole scenario being repeated in a few years time!? Once CB has used the cash from his new friends he will be back in court trying to ditch them out of Zion as well... Really don't think him coming back is what the park and the cats need anytime soon :(
 
I absolutely agree Nisha. We know how he started out at Zion, and this looks like it will be a repeat of history.
 
Seems odd they would remove the daughter but leave the mother there. Unless they are still recognising her as the official animal keeper.

Re Craig taking over, I agree with the above, he has a long record of dumping partners and helpers and owing money he never seems to be bale to be forced to pay back.
 
within this last hour Patricia has been handed a trespass notice and is no longer on the premises, and Craig "has reportedly been spotted at the park":
Fears for Lion Man's mother after Zion sale | Stuff.co.nz
1 February 2012

The lawyer acting for Lion Man Craig Busch's mother says he fears for her health now that her son has apparently returned to Zion Wildlife Park, and she has been locked out of the property.

Mr Busch has reportedly been spotted at the park north of Whangarei following yesterday's announcement the park had been sold.

Following the sale announcement, Mr Busch's mother Patricia was locked out of the park, which she had previously been legally entitled to manage.

Lawyer Evgeny Orlov said today he was unsurprised at Mrs Busch's eviction as he believed Mr Busch was involved in the purchase.

Mrs Busch had been fighting a long-running legal battle with the receivers and Mr Busch as to who had rights to the animals.

An accountant for Mr Busch was at the park yesterday trying to get Mrs Busch to sign documents preventing her speaking to the media, Mr Orlov said.

She went all day without food and when she finally left to get something to eat she was not allowed back in, he said. Police had issued her with a trespass notice.

A team of ''thuggish looking'' security guards were preventing her from returning to the grounds, he added.

''She is extremely stressed - I am worried for her health, she is deeply affected by this.''

Mr Orlov said the main issue was still the future of the 36 big cats on the property.

The park was uneconomical, and strict Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries guidelines had meant it would be too difficult to keep them. Mr Orlov said they would be removed and sold.

''It's just a matter of time. We have lost a collection of cats, you have to ask who is that good for?''

Receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers yesterday announced the business and assets of the park, including the 36 big cats, had been sold to a company which had engaged Mr Busch to help with its operation. The company would hire new staff.

Receiver Colin McCloy said the purchaser was a company called Zion Wildlife Kingdom Ltd. The director of the company is listed as Tracey Beth McVerry, from Tauranga.

Ms McVerry helped organise the Small Block Expo at the Waikato Events Centre. In 2006, Mr Busch was invited to participate in the event with some of his big cats. Visitors to the expo were among the first to witness two new white tiger cubs, which were part of the display.

Ms McVerry could not be reached for comment today.

Receivers went to the gardens site yesterday morning to advise staff of the sale. Staff were given notice and stood down from work on full pay.

Mrs Busch's daughter, Megan, was trespassed and arrested by police as receivers handed the keys to the park's new owners.

Mr Orlov has said he planned to launch wide-ranging injunctions against the purchase, including filing an official complaint against Whangerei police for unlawful search and seizure and assault.

Barriers to the sale had been removed at the High Court at Auckland last week, when representatives for both mother and son, as well as a legal counsel for PricewaterhouseCoopers, appeared.

At that time, Mr Orlov said PricewaterhouseCoopers was no longer challenging Mrs Busch's right over the animals.

The park was placed into liquidation in August last year after the High Court in Whangarei ruled that it could not pay its debts, believed to be up to $100,000.

Mr Busch opened the park in 2002 but sole directorship was handed to his mother after she raised loans to help pay growing debts.

Mr Busch's employment ended in 2008, sparking a long-running legal battle between mother and son.
Click to expand...
 
well it seems Craig is definitely now back in NZ and back at Zion. I will post the link to the 3news video when it appears on-line.

OK here is the link to the video: http://www.3news.co.nz/Patricia-Busch-locked-out-of-park/tabid/309/articleID/241513/Default.aspx
and the story: http://www.3news.co.nz/Patricia-Busch-locked-out-of-park/tabid/423/articleID/241513/Default.aspx#top
‘Lion Man’ Craig Busch’s mother, Patricia Busch, was locked out of the Zion Wildlife Park near Whangarei today.

Legal action could follow, as her lawyer Evgeny Orlov is challenging the way Ms Busch was locked out of the park.

The new owners now have control, and have confirmed Craig Busch is back with the cats. However, they have not said whether or not he will be in charge at the park.

The new owners are legally required to provide the certified operator, but have yet to confirm if this is the Lion Man.

The new company Zion Wildlife Kingdom is solely owner by Bether McVerry from Cambridge, who was the organiser of the Small Block Expo where Craig Busch was the guest star six years ago.

MAF inspectors were onsite today checking on the welfare of the park’s 36 cats.

Although the park has sold, the battle will continue in court to determine who actually owns the cats.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Campbell Live has just done a piece on the above story, and also included an interview with two of the new owners, as well as a studio interview with Patricia and her lawyer. What a mess. The new owners are not doing themselves any favours with their handling of the situation, and its not difficult at all to see Craig Busch's hand behind it all.

*shakes head*

I'll post the link to the video when it appears on-line later this evening.

p.s. Megan was definitely arrested as was reported
 
Looks like its all going to be back in the courts, with more money being spent on court legal costs than spent on the park.
To bad a higher authority can't just say "no more court action" and leave it at that.

The lawyer seems determined to make an issue of what he calls illegal action by the new owners and the police. The police wouldn't have been there and making an arrest if it was an illegal action.
The trespass orders were certainly legal, and police certainly have the power to arrest anyone disobeying a trespass order.

Be interesting to know exactly who the guys on the gate were though. Described as security, but none were in uniform, and the new laws covering security guards require even plain clothes guards to wear their Photo ID visibly on their clothing when working.

Maybe they were just heavies hired for the job.
 
Chlidonias said:
Campbell Live has just done a piece on the above story, and also included an interview with two of the new owners, as well as a studio interview with Patricia and her lawyer. What a mess. The new owners are not doing themselves any favours with their handling of the situation, and its not difficult at all to see Craig Busch's hand behind it all.

*shakes head*

I'll post the link to the video when it appears on-line later this evening.

p.s. Megan was definitely arrested as was reported
Click to expand...
this is that Campbell Live video piece: Left behind at Zion Wildlife Park - Campbell Live - Video - 3 News
I hope it plays for those interested members overseas


kiwipo said:
Be interesting to know exactly who the guys on the gate were though. Described as security, but none were in uniform, and the new laws covering security guards require even plain clothes guards to wear their Photo ID visibly on their clothing when working.

Maybe they were just heavies hired for the job.
Click to expand...
certainly comes across that way doesn't it
 
some of the following article repeats more-or-less what is in the above few posts and links, but the later part of the article is about MaF and who is operating the park:
Lion man back with roar more strife at park | Northland News | Local News in Northland
2 February 2012

Tension boiled over at Zion Wildlife Kingdoms after former owner Patricia Busch was locked out and her operator's license for the park is being looked at by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The drama unfolded about noon yesterday when Mrs Busch returned to the park after having lunch but was denied entry together with her lawyer, Evgeny Orlov.

"We're going to go to court immediately to ask for judicial intervention into this mess, this is, in my view, highly illegal action," Mr Orlov said.

Police were earlier called to the park after the lawyer for Mrs Busch's daughter, Megan Busch, refused to leave when asked to by Zion's new owners.

Megan Busch yesterday pleaded not guilty in the Whangarei District Court to the charge of trespass at the park and was released on bail to re-appear for a defended hearing on May 7.

Police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said the lawyer, who she did not name, was served with a trespass notice by the park owners yesterday morning.

"Officers spoke to the new owner of the park and said they would be able to verbally give the order to the lawyer," Ms Kennett said.

"The police did not remove the lawyer and it was left in the owner's hands."

The lawyer left late yesterday afternoon.

Mr Orlov claimed he was not allowed to see his client and planned to file court action regarding the sale of the park and the behaviour of police.

His comments followed confirmation by Zion director Beth McVerry that Lion Man Craig Busch was reunited with the animals at the park, three years after he was sacked by his mother.

However, the reunion with the big cats may not be plain sailing as he currently does not have an operator's licence and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) is having urgent talks with park owners to ensure the welfare of 36 animals is maintained.

Ms McVerry indicated she would read out a brief statement, copies of which were earlier handed over to the waiting media outside the main gate. However, park contractor Sam Bailey was later forced to read out the statement confirmed Mr Busch was at the park, attending to the welfare of the cats.

"They [animals] love having him back," Ms McVerry said, without entertaining any questions from the media.

She said MAF was dealing with the operator's licence.

MAF also issued a statement late yesterday in which it refused to comment on why Mr Busch was allowed to interfere with the animals or who would be allowed to look after them in the absence of Mrs Busch.

"MAF's legal responsibility is to ensure Zion Wildlife Gardens has an operator accountable for the secure containment of the animals held there and that the welfare of those animals is maintained.

"MAF is urgently talking to the parties involved in the park and the new owners of the land to assess whether or not the current MAF approved legal operator Patricia Busch can discharge her operator responsibilities under the new park ownership.

"Until we have completed this assessment, we will not be making any further comment or providing any interviews," the ministry said.
Click to expand...
 
Geez, it's almost as complex as "Days of Our Lives".

Hix
 
the last of the saga

I doubt seriously that the saga will end anytime soon. There seems to be a lot of fight in Patricia Busch and do not think it will end........
 
The only real winners will be the lawyers, if the money spent on legal expenses had been spent on Zion I think those cats would have some of the best enclosures and living spaces in the world by now.
 
Whangarei big cat park to reopen
2 February 2012

One of the new owners of Zion Wildlife Gardens says she's confident the park can be a financial success.

The big cat park near Whangarei was the centre of a bitter dispute between its owner Patricia Busch and her son, "Lion Man" Craig Busch, and went into liquidation last year owing more than $100,000 in taxes.

The park's receivers, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, have now sold the park, and Mr Busch has returned to take care of its 36 cats.

The disputes, plus the mauling to death of cat handler Dalu Mncube in 2009, created a string of bad publicity for the park, but one of its new owners, Beth McVerry, is confident the park can be turned around.

"We haven't had bad publicity because we obviously haven't been involved in the park," Ms McVerry told Radio Live on Wednesday.

"We are a new company that's coming in, we have a very experienced business team, we have some good plans in place, and we do believe that we can make this a wonderful destination for people to come in and enjoy these animals in a lovely serene environment."

The battle to run the park is not yet over as Ms Busch and her lawyer Evgeny Orlov are planning legal action.

MAF said on Wednesday Ms Busch was still the legal operator of the park.

Ms McVerry said the owners had made an application for an operator's licence and hoped to reopen the park in a few weeks.

Mr Busch's sister Megan appeared in Whangarei District Court on Wednesday charged with trespass and will reappear for a defended hearing on May 7.
Click to expand...
 
There are always going to be fans and foes of Craig Busch having their say.
There are few Zoo people who didn't have the same
EG Gerald Durrell and Marlin Perkins both had plenty of fans and critics.

It remains to be seen if Zion will prosper or fail. Hands on cat encounters are no longer possible in NZ, and that was a big money earner for Craig. His plan for making Zion into a drive through safari park similar to Longleat will take a lot of money, and I can't see MAF allowing a drive through lion park in NZ.

The new owners have a lot of money to throw at Zion, so long as they have a cast iron contract with Craig that can control him then maybe they will do OK.

There was also a bit of info about Craig supposedly making a doco on lions (as if TV isn't already over clogged with lion docos) Deos anyone know any more about this.

Im guessing it would be along the lines of one of David Salmoni's docos, which are absolute dramatised crap.
In fact David and Craig have a lot in common, both were circus lion trainers who ende dup training big cats for movies then moved on into show business, David by making fictional docos on such things as introducing tigers to Africa, and Craig by start Zion.

David has been largely ostracised from South Africa because of his BS films, and now produces docos all over the world.
 
kiwipo said:
In fact David and Craig have a lot in common, both were circus lion trainers who ende dup training big cats for movies then moved on into show business,
Click to expand...

I don't know anything much about David but I do know that Craig was never a circus trainer.

You would need to look to Guns 'n Roses for his "start" with cats I think.
 
Steve Robinson said:
I don't know anything much about David but I do know that Craig was never a circus trainer.

You would need to look to Guns 'n Roses for his "start" with cats I think.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected, he did however get his start training animals for the film industry in the US did he not, which is where he got the the experience of training cats to work in front of the screen.

By Circus trainer i mean anyone who goes in with the cats and trians them to perform tricks, or particular tasks, rather than someone who actually works for a circus.

Im not sure if Dave Salmoni worked for a circus either, but he definitely trained big cats to perform tricks and describe himself as an animal trainer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top