Fur flies in court fight for lion park control

Craig Busch. Photo / Supplied

The claws are out as television's Lion Man Craig Busch and his mother accuse each other of petty theft, after his troubled Northland wildlife park plunged $2 million into debt.

In a case before the High Court Craig Busch claims to have been so emotionally distressed that he didn't know what he was doing when he signed away film rights to material from his TVNZ series, The Lion Man.

But Patricia Busch claims she feared he would attack her as their rift widened this year, after she had earlier bailed the struggling business out.

Court documents have revealed for the first time the real extent of that rift. Zion Wildlife Gardens managing director Patricia Busch, 67, who mortgaged her farm to bail out the Kamo wildlife park, is demanding $3 million from her son and his companies as a final settlement of all debts.

As the two feud, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has been forced to intervene to protect the welfare of the 40 big cats, which inspectors said had been kept in unsanitary and crowded conditions at Zion Wildlife Gardens.

At one stage inspectors even considered putting cats down if they had to close the park.

Craig Busch, 43, has accused his mother of refusing to pay for straw and the construction of a shelter for an injured lioness - an allegation she has vehemently denied. "I would never refuse expenditure on items affecting animal welfare," she said.

As the park struggled to pay its way over the past couple of years, she alleged her son bought a Transit Jumbo cat transporter, a Sumitomo digger, a Nissan Safari ute, a second-hand Isuzu ute, several jetskis and - with her American Express card - a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

There is no suggestion that the jetskis or motorbike were used for transporting lions or tigers.

Craig Busch, in documents filed with the High Court at Whangarei, said his mother had tried to sell the park, that she paid her personal bills from company accounts and had, literally, taken money from the till.

She also denied those allegations, instead accusing him of stealing the lion park's front-desk message book and other documents. She gave evidence that he put a stop to the high-value private park tours for wealthy tourists, one of the business' few remaining money-spinners, in a bid to regain control of the park.

Craig Busch was last year convicted of two counts of assault against his former girlfriend, Karen Greybrook, after finding her semi-naked in bed with another couple in 2005.