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Controversial Lion Man television star Craig Busch is involved in a nasty catfight with his mother over control of the wildlife park that has made him world famous.
The pair have had a bitter falling out, with police and lawyers involved and Busch's mother, Patricia, understood to have hired security guards.
The dispute threatens to derail Craig Busch's career as a television star - The Lion Man, now into its third series, screens in almost 100 countries.
The Herald on Sunday understands the spat revolves around control of Zion Wildlife Gardens near Whangarei - home of almost 50 lions and tigers and where the TV show is filmed - and another website set up by Craig Busch.
A police source confirmed mother and son were in dispute over ownership of the park and that officers had been called there at least once. Both live on the site - Craig in a house, and his mother in a Portacom shed.
The police source said there had been petty disputes at the park since June. "They are having issues over the running of the lion park and they are having disputes over ownership. It looks like tit-for-tat stuff. She's alleging stuff. He's alleging stuff."
Police are understood to have been called to an incident involving fencing posts - "he was trying to get access to these posts and she was trying to stop him from getting them". No charges had been laid.
Craig Busch, who has kept a relatively low profile since his conviction last year of assaulting his former partner after he found her in bed with a man and woman, could not be contacted yesterday.
However, the Herald on Sunday understands legal action is under way at the Whangarei High Court to halt a website that he set up about two months ago.
That website, nzlionman.com, describes itself as "the official Lionman website", and sells "Lionman" calendars and DVDs of the television series.
The website is believed to have infuriated Patricia Busch and Great Southern Television, which produces The Lion Man show, under the company Primal Productions. They have been selling the DVDs, calendars, and other Lion Man merchandise on the Zion Wildlife website. "We do have some things going on," said Patricia Busch yesterday. "But it's not been given to any news people or media, or anything like that."
Patricia Busch is managing director of the gardens - she reportedly took ownership in June 2006. She said her son was still working for her but would not comment further.
It is understood Patricia Busch put together a multi-million-dollar bailout package of the park two years ago to stave off creditors.
According to Companies Office documents, Patricia Busch and Great Southern Television head Phil Smith are the directors of Primal Productions, the company behind The Lion Man series.
Phil Smith said he could not comment, other than to say Primal owned all the rights to filming. "From a Great Southern perspective, we would like Primal to continue filming at the park but at this stage it is unclear if that would involve Craig Busch. We could film another series there."
The Companies Office records show a range of companies associated with the park. Several have Patricia Busch and Craig Busch as joint shareholders, others are in Patricia Busch's name.
* Cat fights
Zion Wildlife Gardens and the Lion Man are no strangers to controversy:
September 2008: The Employment Relations Authority found that former park manager Nicholas Coc-Kroft had been unjustifiably dismissed after a falling out with Patricia Busch.
April 2008: A volunteer park worker was bitten by a lion cub, leading to a Department of Labour inquiry. It placed most of the blame on the worker, but the department reprimanded Craig Busch for not reporting the "serious workplace injury".
January 2008: Council commissioners approved resource consent for development of the park, despite objections.
May 2007: Craig Busch pleads guilty to two counts of assaulting former partner Karen Greybrook in January 2005, after he found her semi-naked in bed with a man and a woman. He was convicted and ordered to pay her $8000.
