Former staff of a Whangārei wildlife park have made an emotional plea to see the remaining big cats one last time before they are put down.
On Monday, Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary announced the park's owners, Bolton Equities, had decided to euthanise the park's last seven big cats this week.
That was confirmed by the Ministry of Primary Industries on Tuesday.
The 32.5ha property, in Te Kamo, closed to the public on 2 November and is currently for sale.
In a social media update on Wednesday afternoon, however, the park said two elderly lions had been put down for health reasons, but five other big cats continued to be looked after.
Former park manager Bridgette Henare said she contacted other former staff members as soon as she heard the news on Monday that the animals were to be put down.
She asked the park operator to pass on a request to see the cats one last time.
She said that had been refused by the owners.
An emotional Henare said she had not seen the cats since the park went into receivership in 2012, because of a lack of trust between the old staff and new owners.
"I'm devastated, devastated it's come to this," she said.
"Those cats have looked out waiting for us for years. We raised them. They know us. Please ask them to reconsider ... Please let them see us so they know we didn't forget them," she said.
Henare said she had managed the park from 2008-12, when Craig "Lion Man" Busch's mother Patricia Busch owned the park and it was home to more than 30 lions, tigers, leopards and cheetahs.
She said the cats also faced the threat of euthanasia after the 2012 receivership.
Henare organised a protest march through Whangārei calling for the animals to be spared, and had hopes of organising a reggae concert on a neighbouring property to raise funds to keep the park open.
Another former staff member, keeper Chris Wickenden, was previously a keeper at London Zoo and now works in a pet store in Kerikeri.
He said euthanasia was "part and parcel" of working with animals, though it was usually done for health reasons.
"I know these animals. I've worked with them for a year. To know that they're being put down is hard to hear, but I do understand it. It's not an easy decision to make."
Wickenden said he wished a place could have been found for the elderly cats to live out the rest of their years.
Finding such a place, however, was difficult.
"There is an expense to having these animals. You have the containment, you have the food supply, you have the keepers to look after them. So there's money always going out, and if there's no money coming in, then, unfortunately, decisions like this are made."
Nor was it as simple as giving them to a zoo.
"They're not an animal that can just be introduced to other groups, other prides. And they're not animals that can be just put into a paddock and let go. They have to have specific housing, which is very expensive to set up if it's not there already."
In 2012, Orana Wildlife Park, near Christchurch, showed interest in taking some of the cats, but they were much younger then, and that was in a different, pre-Covid, time.
The park's darkest day was in May 2009 when keeper Dalu Mncube was mauled to death by a white tiger.
Fellow keeper Martin Ferreira, who now lives in Timaru, was in the same enclosure when it happened.
Ferreira was saddened by the park's closure and the decision to put down the remaining big cats.
It also meant Whangārei was losing what could have been an important tourist attraction.
"We raised these cats, especially all the white lions and the black leopard. It's just sad for the whole community."
Like Henare, Ferreira said he would have liked a last chance to see the cats.
"It would have been great to go see them just one more time," he said.
Henare said she took some small comfort from believing Mncube would soon be reunited with the animals he loved.
"Even though it's devastating, it's also a bit of relief for them, because they will be free of everything. And Dalu will be waiting for them, that's for sure."
Wickenden said the park had been battered by controversy over the years, including Mncube's death, financial strife, and the falling out between Craig Busch and his mother.
That, however, was all in the past.
"You have to look at what's happened since then. I believe there have been upgrades to the enclosures, so the cats have been given the best opportunities that they could've had, just to carry on with their lives. But it's a hard decision [to put them down]. I couldn't have taken it. I mean, I'm choking a little bit at the moment, just thinking about it. But it's part of life."
The park's owners, Bolton Equities, did not respond to requests for comment.
RNZ has also sought clarification from Bolton Equities and the park operator as to whether the five big cats remaining on Wednesday would still be put down, as announced on Monday.
Wednesday's social media update from Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary said the decision to euthanise two lions was taken due to known health conditions and "with their welfare as our highest priority".
The remaining cats were well and continued to be looked after, but rehoming them would be problematic given their advanced age.
Bolton Equities was currently in discussions with new parties who were interested in buying the property, the update stated.