Craig Busch

I am a simple 33 year old living in london  I turned my TV on to find a show called 'The Lion Man'. Being an animal lover, this show was perfect for me. Week after week it followed the life of Craig Busch and his running of Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand's North, a sanctuary for big cats; lions, tigers and cheetahs alike, as well as many other animals. I was amazed from the moment I started watching, and so full of envy. This man had the best and most amazing life if you asked me, he was dedicated to preventing the extinction of these amazing animals. He worked all day, everyday; feeding the cats, cleaning the enclosures, building and constructing new enclosures, training ther cats, helping rear the cubs and much more. He was the most caring, hardworking and dedicated man I had ever seen. The bond he had with these cats (excluding the wild pride) was amazing and brought me to tears so many times.

But leading a life to prevent the extinction of these rare big cats and looking after over 40 of them in the park he built in New Zealand's north has its costs, and unfortunatly, a few years ago after Craig had invested his money in the park, he fell into a lot of debt. It was his own mother that bailed him out of this debt, an act of love one would think. But then, and excuse my biased views on this situation, his mother turned on him, taking over leadership of the park and dismissing him from his job. When I saw this news article, I could hardly believe it. I had watched this man week in, week out care for his animals, I had witnessed his friendship and love for each and every one of them, and just like that, he was fired. Fired from not only his job, but his basically what was his whole life.

As Craig lived in there, he was not banned from Zion Wildlife Gardens completely, but has to phone and organise when he can go to and from the park and he is allowed no hands on contact with the animals. The lions and tigers he had lived with for many years, going into their enclosures, taking them on walks, even taking them to the beach, and playing with them every single day, he is now not even allowed to pat them. The harshness of these rules has now been further increased to a tiny 30minute visiting period each month, but Craig doesnt even use this time as the animals are upset by it. They used to see and bond with him every day, just watch the television series to see how he was a father figure to many of his cats. The problem is they may not be able to cope if they saw him for this tiny length of time only once a month, not to mention the fact they would not be able to play with him as they used to.

Anyway, I have written this petition in support of Craig Busch; the Lion Man. His dismissal from the park he built his life around was completely unfair. This is a man who lived in a one room house, and worked all day, every day towards the conservation of these animals. His park and his animals were practically stolen from him, by his own human family, a shocking fact that makes me extremely angry.

I ask you to sign this petition no matter where you live or whether you have seen the show or not. If we can gain enough signatures, just maybe this petition can be taken to the courts and used to help Craig's case. He needs to return to Zion Wildlife Gardens! We need him to return! It is essential to the survival of these rare cat species, not to mention the fact that these lions and tigers need the friend, carer and father back.



Craig Busch. It is a portion of the very first episode of 'The Lion Man'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkB0WGImaQw




PLEASE SIGN!!!