INTERVIEW
THE BIG
What was your background, what do you remember most about the early days and why did you decide to take on the challenge? We started because we were looking for a better way of introducing people to wildlife and inspiring them. Both Lynn and I came from the pet trade and we left a successful pet and aquatic retail business that, in terms of turnover, we only matched three years ago! We arrived to view the property in the wet and all we seem to remember is wet and windy exposed fields.
How has the business grown since then? Originally this was a bird garden run by two different entities from 1982 and we took over in 1993. Our first year saw about 14,000 people through the door and you could stand at the top of the zoo and see nearly everywhere below, across what were then three Devon fields. Back then, it was Lynn, one trusted worker in the zoo, one in the kitchen and me doing everything. We also had great support from our parents. My mother has always been a keeper with the little monkey and Lynn’s father did the books while her mother helped with marketing. A little work with a JCB, a massive three-day bonfire and a tremendous hole (which the JCB nearly fell into) saw a new beginning. Initially we had a few parrots and small monkeys which we were able to put into
32 SME
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BACK THEN, IT WAS LYNN, ONE TRUSTED WORKER IN THE ZOO, ONE IN THE KITCHEN AND ME DOING EVERYTHING. WE ALSO HAD GREAT SUPPORT FROM OUR PARENTS
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