Lion man drops bid to bankrupt mum

Lion man Craig Busch has dropped his bid to have his mother bankrupted. Photo / supplied

Lion man Craig Busch has dropped his bid to have his mother bankrupted, less than two months after taking her to the High Court.

The case was initially heard by Associate Judge Roger Bell in the High Court at Whangarei in August and was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday.

In August Judge Bell also officially liquidated Zion Wildlife Gardens, the family enterprise they are bitterly warring over.

Mr Busch has applied to withdraw his application to bankrupt his mum, Patricia Busch, and Judge Bell has vacated the hearing next week and directed instead that the matter be called in the ordinary bankruptcy list on Monday.

If there are no appearances, the application will be dismissed.

Mr Busch applied to have his mother declared bankrupt for a debt of $3800.

Judge Bell had ordered Mr Busch to put up security costs of $3800 but the man who became known as The Lion Man after the popular TV serious of the same name, decided to withdraw the application.

Craig Busch is believed to be living at Tutukaka after returning from overseas.

Mrs Busch survived another attempt to have her bankrupted in August after she paid $8200 sought by creditor Bel Bruun of New South Wales.

The application for liquidation of Zion in August was filed by the Inland Revenue Department regarding a debt of $105,766.

Mr Busch lost Zion Wildlife Gardens, the big cat park he started and that featured in The Lion Man TV series he starred in, to his mother after she bailed him out financially.

His mother dismissed him from the park in November 2008.

But the Lion man has been trying to raise funds to buy back the park, or set up another, with donations pouring in from around the globe.

Zion is in liquidation.