Receivers refused entry to Zion Wildlife Gardens

File photo / Michael Cunningham

A judge has ordered Zion Wildlife Gardens operator Patricia Busch to hand over the park's keys to the receivers after she refused to let them in.

Receivers from PricewaterhouseCoopers were last month called in to take control of the beleaguered reserve, which came under the public spotlight following the mauling death of employee Dalu Mncube by a white tiger in 2009.

In the High Court at Auckland today, lawyer for the receivers Justin Toebes said Ms Busch had defied a previous High Court order by refusing to give the receivers full access to the park and company documents, making it impossible for them to do their job.

He was seeking a court order "with a bit more bite" to get Ms Busch to comply with the receivers.

"All she has to do is open the gates, let the receivers look at the books and let them get on with carrying out their duties.

"This person's holed up in the park, there's no money and staff haven't been paid for sometime. It's completely and utterly unacceptable.

"There will be proper management when the receivers come in and are able to pay staff and pay for a bit of feed.

"It is an unholy mess."

Counsel for Ms Busch, Shaurya Malaviya, said Ms Busch had refused to grant the receivers entry because she had not been served with hard-copies of their application, which contravened High Court rules.

However, Justice Mark Woolford said he was satisfied the document had been brought to the attenion of Ms Busch and her lawyer.

He ordered that Ms Busch make available all books, documents and information that the receivers could reasonably require.

He further ordered Ms Busch open the park to the receivers at 11am tomorrow and provide them with access to all areas.

Her lawyer was also entitled to be there, he said.

The court was also told the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry carried out an inspection of the park on August 5 which had raised no animal welfare concerns.

- NZPA