The land occupied by the Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary is on the market. Photo / NZME
The fate of Whangārei’s famous big cat park will lie in the hands of its successful buyer.
The 32.5ha home of the Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary hit the market with Bayleys real estate this month.
The sale of the Gray Rd property in Te Kamo includes the buildings, such as animal enclosures and staff accommodation, but none of the big cats.
According to the sanctuary’s website, it cares for 16 animals: 13 adult lions, two Bengal tigers, and one leopard.
The park was previously home to the country’s only black leopard, but Mandla was euthanised in 2023 after a rapid health decline.
News of the sale has sparked concern among Northlanders worried about what would happen to the animals if the park closed.
The Northern Advocate has attempted to contact the directors of Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary to learn more about their decision to sell and the fate of the big cats but has received no response.
The sanctuary’s facility operator, Janette Vallance, said the new owner would be the one to decide what the property will be used for.
“In the meantime, we continue [as] usual.”
General entry to the sanctuary is available Friday to Sunday and public holidays. Booked tours are possible every day except Thursday.
Vallance did not shed any light on what may happen to the big cats if a new property owner opted not to continue with the park.
The Northern Advocate approached the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to see whether it had any expectations for the big cats in the event of a change.
The ministry, which plays a central role in overseeing animal sanctuaries and zoos in New Zealand, confirmed it was aware of the sale.
MPI deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle said it had engaged with the sanctuary’s owner and operator.
“To date, we have not been notified of any changes for the small number of animals remaining on site.”
Arbuckle said if the new purchaser wanted to continue operating as a wildlife sanctuary, they would have to comply with rules that included the Animal Welfare Act and the Standard for Zoo Containment Facilities.
“We would consider any application on its merits.”
University of Otago professor Philip Seddon’s comments to the Northern Advocate were made around the time the park temporarily closed as Big Cats Limited, the company that ran the sanctuary, was put into involuntary liquidation.
Seddon shot down the possibility of the big cats being released into the wild because they had been raised in captivity so lacked the hunting and social skills needed to survive.
He said a zoo or sanctuary or a suitably registered welfare centre had to be found but that was unlikely at the time because of the number of big cats involved.
“Otherwise, they can be humanely euthanised,” he told the Northern Advocate in 2023.
When contacted this week, Seddon said his viewpoint was unchanged and he was still not aware of any New Zealand facility that could easily accommodate the animals.
The Northern Advocate contacted some zoos and wildlife sanctuaries known to house big cats to put to them the hypothetical situation of taking in the Kamo sanctuary’s animals.
Hamilton Zoo would not be able to take any of the big cats as it was not set up for lions and currently houses five tigers.
Orana Wildlife Park chief executive Rachel Haydon said any decision to transfer an animal from Kamo to a wildlife park, zoo or aquarium involved multiple stakeholders.
“It’s no one person’s decision.”
Haydon explained transferring animals between zoos was complex.
“Therefore any decision for next steps in relation to the animals in the care of Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary would take a multi-stakeholder approach.”
Haydon said Orana Wildlife Park, in Christchurch, is a member of the Zoo Aquarium Association (ZAA), which represents 98 zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries and wildlife parks across Australasia that operate to the highest welfare standards.
“ZAA has genuine regard for Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary and the animals currently in their care. However, Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary is not currently a member of the association and the animals in their care are not representative of ZAA programme species.”
The Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary has a well-documented chequered past that dates back to its beginning as Zion Wildlife Gardens, founded by controversial “Lion Man” Craig Busch.
The park faced financial difficulties in 2006. Busch accepted a bailout from his mother, who became the sole director.
Three years later, zookeeper Dalu Mncube was mauled to death by a white tiger named Abu. A temporary closure and safety upgrades followed.
Busch’s mother lost control of the park in 2013 to a finance company because of mortgage defaults.
Auckland-based Bolton Equities bought the property in 2014 and invested $9m in upgrades to meet government requirements. The park reopened under new management in 2021 and was rebranded Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary.
The park went into liquidation in 2023 but reopened for public visits and undergoes regular verification by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Arbuckle said MPI was satisfied that the operation continued to meet its animal welfare and containment obligations.