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Zion Wildlife Gardens has new owners. Patricia Busch reacts to the news her son Craig will return to the park. - Source: ONE News -
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Patricia Busch remains the approved operator of Zion Wildlife Gardens and management of the Whangarei park will continue as normal, MAF says.
In a statement issued today, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said it has a regulatory responsibility to ensure the requirements around containment and animal welfare are met.
"We have been in talks with all parties involved over the last few days to assess whether operator responsibilities can be met under the new park ownership," the director of verification services, Steve Gilbert, said.
"The discussions we've had have been positive and an agreement has been reached between the new park owners and Patricia Busch, with the full support of MAF."
MAF will monitor the park daily as part of its regular monitoring and oversight.
It has confirmed Patricia is the legal operator of Zion. However when she left the park earlier this week to meet with her lawyer she was told she could not return.
She has also made claims of being bullied and threatened since the new owners turned up with police on Tuesday.
Today's announcement follows a turbulent week for Zion, which went into liquidation in August last year.
The park's receivers, Colin McCloy and David Bridgman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, announced on Monday that the park had been sold to Zion Wildlife Kingdom Ltd.
New owner Beth McVerry has said she is looking to reopen the park very soon. The company is registered to an address in Tauranga.
Supporters rally
Earlier today a former employee of Zion Wildlife Gardens led a public march to muster support for its future.
Lion Man Craig Busch is back caring for the big cats at Zion, and its new owners say the park will reopen soon.
Former Zion employee Bridgette Henare-Winiata, who was made redundant in 2010, said "the Busch family need to really sit down and sort out their problems".
She says it was time for the public to have its say about the future of the park and the animals.
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