Zion Wildlife Gardens' receivers are headed to court because someone wants to buy the park - big cats and all.
Evgeny Orlov, lawyer for the gardens' operator Patricia Busch, said receivers had launched a bid for an urgent High Court hearing on Wednesday to ask for the park's 36 big cats to be taken off the property by February 3 or be euthanised.
However, the park's receivers PriceWaterhouseCoopers say their court bid is about the welfare of the big cats and not about killing them.
Colin McCloy of PriceWaterhouseCoopers says the bid was made to support a sale of the park as a going concern, meaning the cats would remain.
"An interested party has offered to purchase the business and assets of Zion," he said.
"The receivers believe the offer represents good value and the best option to preserve the operation of the park and the welfare of the animals.
"However, existing court directions need to be varied to support the sale process."
Mr McCloy said he couldn't name the prospective buyer due to commercial sensitivity.
He said the welfare of the animals was a priority and the receivers had continued to provide them with food and vet care.
Mr Orlov said the court action he had seen effectively meant the cats would have to be killed as there was no chance the animals could be removed by February 3.
He told NZ Newswire the application would be challenged on procedural grounds as a hearing on the animals' future had already been scheduled for February.
Zion Wildlife Gardens became famous through the television series The Lion Man, featuring Ms Busch's son Craig.
The park subsequently got into trouble and there was a falling-out between Craig and Patricia Busch, which resulted in Craig Busch leaving the park in 2008 after an employment battle.
Zoo keeper Dalu Mncube was killed by one of the cats the following year.
NZN