Ben’s Zoo

8:00pm – Wednesday, July 8 on ABC2

Six months after buying the zoo, Ben is still determined to transform it. A visit from the local council zoo inspector makes him realise just how tough it’s going to be.

Before they can even apply for a licence to re-open, there is a mountain of work to be done.

All the animal enclosures need essential repairs and improvements.

Fighting amongst the wolf pack has broken out and a rat infestation needs to be addressed.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, keeper Owen finds a mating partner for the male tragopan pheasant and love is definitely in the air.

8:00pm – Wednesday, July 1 on ABC2

It’s Christmas time at the zoo. Ben and his family stuff a cardboard zebra with meat as a treat for the lions and Basil the Coati has an infected penis.

The renovation of the zoo is underway, but Ben is also faced with some urgent welfare issues.

Most serious is the fighting between the two female Siberian tigers. If a new home can’t be found for both of them, one will have to be destroyed.

Spring brings tragic news. Ben’s wife Katharine is diagnosed with a brain tumour which becomes terminal. All work, except essential animal care, is put on hold.

8:00pm – Wednesday, June 24 on ABC2

When Ben and his family buy a zoo, they meet with unexpected problems. The escape of a wolf shows Ben just how desperately the zoo is in need of repairs, but buying the park has used up all the family’s savings.

Time is running out. They have just AUD7977 (4000 pounds) left in the bank account and the zoo is already costing AUD5983 (3000 pounds) a week to run.

Ben has to find someone who will lend them AUD997,171 (500,000 pounds) as they still need to pay for the repairs and renovations. If he fails, the zoo will be back on the market and the animals’ lives will be in danger once again.

8:00pm – Wednesday, June 17 on ABC2

Ben Mee, a man with no previous animal care experience, spends his family’s life savings in an attempt to save the zoo animals from death row.

The Dartmoor Wildlife Park in Devon, UK, was preparing itself for the worst. Closed to the public and desperate for new investment, a skeleton staff of dedicated workers remained, some spending their own money to buy food and much needed drugs for the animals.

The keepers knew that the chance of re-housing mature big cats, monkeys and wolves in other zoos was minimal. Unless someone could scrape together the million plus pounds (AUD2 million) needed to buy the zoo, their beloved creatures were just weeks from being destroyed.

At the eleventh hour, they heard the news. Against all the odds, Ben Mee, a writer and DIY expert, and his family had been crazy enough to buy the zoo.

This is the story of Ben, his family, the animals, and the struggle to save the zoo animals from death row and re-open it to the public.