Ex-premier’s son in big-cat venture

The youngest son of former WA Premier Colin Barnett is behind a plan to bring two of the big cats from the “Tiger King’s” former US zoo to Australia to be re-homed in the East Kimberley. After securing 350ha of land near Kununurra last November, Sam Barnett has begun plans for a free-range animal sanctuary and breading program for up to 41 exotic species. Mr Barnett said two Sumatran tigers would be flown to Australia for quarantine next month, where they would await approval from the Federal Department of Agriculture to be kept in the Kimberley. The 30-year-old said he bought the animals realising their previous owner was now a familiar face, the star of the hit Netflix show Tiger King, Joe Exotic. “You have exotic animal agents so through that channel we’ve ended up with two of Joe Exotic’s animals,” he said. “I was in talks with the US zoo even before the Netflix series was even released.” But we won’t be able to come face to face with the animals as the sanctuary will be strictly private, with Mr Barnett saying he hoped the venture would not be anything like the drama we have watched on our screens but would put WA on the map. “It won’t be a tourist attraction like the ones seen on the show but a world leader in how to humanely house exotic animals,” he said. “I have chosen Kununurra due to its climate and isolation. “Kununurra has a climate suitable to many native African and Asian species of animal. “The isolation of the Kimberley is ideal for biosecurity of local animals and it keeps any diseases away from the exotic species.” Mr Barnett, who lives in Florida and owns private property investment company Pearllargo, will fund the zoo with the help of a mystery US donor who does not want to be named. He also would not reveal where the Kununurra property was located but said it had substantial buildings including staff accommodation on site which would have to be bulldozed. The animal sanctuary is expected to be completed and operational by 2022 pending approvals.