Teenage TikTok sensation Kyle Thomas thought it was a bit of harmless fun when he started posting videos of his growing exotic pet collection alongside food reviews and comedy sketches. He was in his mid-teens when his meerkats Mylo and Dorothy, marmosets Trisha and Freddie, and three rescue foxes started appearing on his platform, but it was when Kyle posted images of his pet capybara (a South American rodent) called Queen Elizabeth in a pumpkin hat and costume one Halloween that the backlash from animal rights protestors began. And Kyle started to realise his home was not a suitable environment for his unusual menagerie.
The game-changer for Kyle was when the capybara died of natural causes in 2022, leading to Kyle’s mother Zena being prosecuted for smuggling it from England to Northern Ireland, where they live. So he turned the whole hoo-ha on its head and decided to open his own wildlife park and exotic animal rescue centre, and now his incredible journey from social media sensation to animal rights ambassador has been charted in new BBC documentary We Built A Zoo.
‘I realised meerkats don’t make good pets,’ says Kyle, one of Britain’s highest-earning TikTokkers
The documentary sees Kyle buy his own 14-acre plot of land as he tries to create his own sanctuary for creatures including goats
‘There is no easy way to say this,’ explains Kyle, who’s now one of Britain’s highest-earning TikTokkers with 35 million followers at the age of just 19 (he posts up to 60 videos a week) and has just been named in Forbes magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 list of young entrepreneurs. ‘One day I walked in to give my capybara more food before bed, and she was having a fit. I tried to give her mouth-to-mouth and we drove her to the vet but when we got there she’d passed away. They said I needed a licence to keep a capybara and I said, “What?” I thought, “How on earth will I ever explain this?” I was terrified.
‘We bought Queen Elizabeth from somebody who distributed animals and claimed to be reputable. They said she was from a zoo and had all her paperwork. They said we didn’t need a licence. I want people to realise our intentions were pure. The most important thing is that people should do their homework before getting animals and know exotic animals aren’t pets. That’s what we had to learn.
‘One video people really didn’t like was when I put this cloak on Queen Elizabeth. At the time I didn’t see any harm in that. The capybara incident was a big turning point for me. It was really eye-opening when I realised the bad side of the exotic pet trade. It’s there for some people purely because of what they can get out of it – money.’
The documentary sees Kyle buy his own 14-acre plot of land as he tries to create his own sanctuary, but sadly fails due to objections from neighbours and controversial media attention. His fortunes take a turn for the better in January 2024 when local farmer and builder Phil Hughes comes to the rescue. Together the duo turn Phil’s existing modest petting farm into a world-class animal sanctuary for Kyle’s pets and other unwanted exotics.
The show, which has a similar tone to Clarkson’s Farm, follows them as they build enclosures, learn about animals, navigate regulations, bring in specialist vets and campaign to bring an end to the exotic pet trade.
The first task is to create a home for Kyle’s meerkats. ‘I realised meerkats don’t make good pets. I flew to South Africa and drove eight hours into the Kalahari Desert to learn from Alma Celeste Stafford, whose rehab centre rescues them from the pet trade.’ Alma shows how, as part of the illegal pet trade, meerkats and other exotic animals are wrapped in chicken wire mesh at four weeks old to restrict their movement so they can’t be detected by airport scanners. They can’t breathe, eat or drink.
Kyle flew to South Africa and drove eight hours into the Kalahari Desert to learn from Alma Celeste Stafford, pictured, whose rehab centre rescues them from the pet trade
Kyle breaks down in tears after learning this. ‘I was speechless. This is psychopathic. I’m almost confident my meerkats were born in the UK because I got them so young. But knowing the suffering that takes place makes me feel rubbish. At least now I can be a voice for the animals.
‘I’m visiting sanctuaries and talking to conservationists across the world. The exotic animal trade is covered up. I don’t want to be part of that dark world. I want to change it and make people aware of it.’
Now the wildlife park, with its pythons, kunekune pigs, Yemen chameleon, an Argentine tegu lizard and exotic tortoises to name but a few, is open to the public. ‘The aim is for people to get up close with the animals and their keepers, so they have an intimate experience.
‘We still have a long way to go. We’re transforming what was once a petting zoo into something with a bigger mission. We’re not trying to be experts, we consult experts all the time and we’re all still learning. It’s a long road ahead, but it’s exciting.’
We Built A Zoo, Wednesday, 9pm, BBC3 and BBC iPlayer.
Five more fascinating zoo shows to stream
Zoo Quest (BBC iPlayer)
It’s brilliant watching Sir David Attenborough in this black-and-white series, right at the beginning of his broadcasting career in the 1950s. The presenter and a team from London Zoo travel to far-flung locations in search of exotic animals to capture and exhibit in the UK. Of course, Sir David would never dream of doing this today!
An Apology To Elephants (Sky/Now)
Lily Tomlin narrates this passionate film about the mistreatment of elephants in circuses and zoos. While it’s painful to watch footage of the creatures being ‘trained’ to entertain us (right), it sends an urgent message about the need to protect the majestic beasts.
Anna’s Wild Life (Amazon Prime Video)
Changing Rooms’ Anna Ryder Richardson and husband Colin quit London for Manor House Park in Wales in 2008. The 52-acre zoo is home to exotic species including tigers, meerkats and rhinos – and it’s fun to watch posh-sounding Anna muck in and help look after them.
Animal Park (BBC iPlayer)
Kate Humble and Ben Fogle front this series filmed at Longleat safari park in Wiltshire. The expert staff get plenty of screen time, as do the animals including otters, cheetahs and zebras.
The Secret Life Of The Zoo (Channel 4)
Animal lovers will find this behind-the-scenes peek at the goings-on in Chester Zoo a rewarding watch. There are some stand-out moments in the ten series, such as the birth of a Rothschild’s giraffe calf (right), delivered from a height of 6ft, in 2019.
