AARON WHITNALL: My name is Aaron Whitnall
and I would like to welcome you to my home, which so happens to be a zoo. Paradise Wildlife
Park in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.
COMM: 32 years ago, Peter Sampson stumbled
across the worst zoo in the UK, and decided to buy it.
COMM: Despite having no zoo keeping experience,
he fell in love with the animals and started work to rejuvenate the struggling park.
PETER SAMPSON: I think the hardest thing in
the early days when we knew very little about animal welfare, animal care, it took a long
while to convince people we were doing it for the right reasons, rather than the wrong reasons.
COMM: Now Paradise Wildlife Park has expanded.
The organisation has a second site dedicated to their big cats and supports conservation
projects worldwide. And the future of the park is ensured by Peter’s passionate children
and grandchildren.
LYNN WHITNALL: I originally helped out just
in the first year. I was actually working somewhere else in travel and tourism. And
I came over just on days off and evenings just to help out with the animals, and 32
years later, I’m still here. Being able to raise the children at the site of the park
has just been absolutely amazing, so it’s been their back garden.
COMM: All three of Lynn’s children are involved
in the park, but eldest son Aaron has forged a strong love for wildlife.
AARON WHITNALL: Growing up on a zoo as a kid,
in primary school, it was normal life, so I didn’t really know anything different.
You don’t really think, “Oh, I live at a zoo, that’s weird.” In fact we could
play hide and seek for like two weeks because we’d never find each other around the zoo.
And, you know, being around animals, it was all fun, but you don’t really appreciate
it until you get that little bit older, you know.
COMM: For the family, living at the zoo created
an unbreakable bond with the animals.
LYNN WHITNALL: So, we actually looked after
Zara, a lion cub, at home for about 4-5 months. Having the lion cub in the house with the
children was lovely, because obviously they helped nurture her and, you know, they will
be with her when she was growing up over those first few months. I think it was educational
for both of them and great fun. But Aaron did actually sleep with Zara for a couple
of months. It was couple of times where he was quite tired at school, because through
the night she wanted to play and we did actually get a call from the school saying that was
there a problem at home and Aaron gad actually said in class that he was sleeping with a
lion cub, and obviously they felt that he wasn’t being quite truthful.
AARON WHITNALL: Hey, guys! I think the hardest
thing, firstly from an animal point of view, remembering that they are not going to live
as long as you are. And they do fall ill and it’s incredibly sad. You know, there’s
been times where I’ve absolutely been bawling my eyes out. And sometimes you are not always
going to get the answers as well. Like people, animals can just drop down dead.
AARON WHITNALL: One of the things that has
really helped me, what I’m saying about the upbringing, being brought up as a keeper,
but also being brought up as a family that own a wildlife park or two wildlife parks.
I’ve able to look at the real big picture of things and see what I can do to really
help inspire people. Doing what I do now, which mainly revolves around things like big
cats, because for my family that was such a big thing, because they generally tend to
be my granddad passion, that’s always been pretty amazing. So, you know, growing up has
just been awesome, in a word, you know, luckiest guy alive.
LYNN WHITNALL: So I think we’re most proud
of the fact that when we first brought here it was one of the worst zoos in the UK. And
with our family and the team that we have, we have transformed it over the years into
one of the best small zoos in the UK and possibly Europe, which is wonderful.