THOMAS Chipperfield spends his days tending to a menagerie of wild animals including a tiger and two lions he is so close to he can kiss one on the mouth.

His unusual life in the English countryside is being documented by a film crew recording his battles with the Government and animal rights protesters – a barmy tale that will sound eerily familiar to many.

Thomas, 30, is being touted as Britain’s version of Joe Exotic, the controversial star of the Netflix Tiger King series about roadside zoos in the States.

But while the cowboy hat wearing American, 57, is famous for having multiple husbands and arranging an attempted hit on his animal rights campaigning nemesis Carole Baskin, his English counterpart insists he is very different.

“I’m not the same as Joe Exotic,” Thomas tells Sun Online. “I’m indifferent to cowboy outfits and while I’m not going to make a judgement on polygamy, it’s not my cup of tea.

"But the unusual nature of my life will make for interesting viewing.

"I’ve had my own issues with animal rights protesters including death threats, attacks on my car and people threatening to kidnap my mother. It’s just the way these people operate.”

'Britain's last lion tamer' keeps 35 exotic pets

Tiger King has kept us glued to our television sets during lockdown as we marvel at the self-proclaimed “gay, gun-carrying red neck” Joe Exotic and his Oklahoma zoo.

While his tiger breeding scene might seem a million miles away from our shores, there are scores of big cat owners right here in the UK.

A Freedom of Information request by the Born Free charity shows that 4,800 wild animal licences have been handed out by local authorities in Britain – and the success of Tiger King is likely to encourage even more applications.

Thomas lives with his girlfriend Celine Timmerman, 29, in rural Staffordshire and holds a licence that allows him to keep 35 unusual pets including foxes and snakes.

He comes from a long line of animal trainers and performed in a travelling circus until 2018 when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) refused to renew his licence, sparking a high profile court battle that he lost.

Given that he was one of only a few big cat trainers working in a UK circus, he was dubbed ‘Britain’s Last Lion Tamer’ ahead of a nationwide ban on the acts this year.

'I can kiss and cuddle my lion'

Today his male tiger Altai, aged nine, and two male African lions called Tsavo and Assegai, both 10, live in a 3000 sq ft enclosure beside his house where he feeds them discarded meat from the local abattoir.

“I have to work harder to keep them stimulated and provide extra enrichment now they are not performing in the circus," he says.

“I put different toys in their enclosures, I spray perfume around and put in leafy branches and scent boxes.

“I’m very attached to the animals and they are receptive to that.

“I can kiss one of the lions and put my arm around him because he trusts me."

The trainer has been dogged by outrage over his shows in the past, with protesters taking to the streets supported by the RSPCA and Peta.

During a 2015 tour of Wales, he was forced to deny claims the lions and tigers, which were bred in captivity, are mistreated and kept in cages which are too small.

“I think they’re happy," he says today. "They are in open air and have plenty of room to run around in.

“I don’t see any problem with having any animals in the circus as long as their welfare needs are met."

'People have sympathy for Joe Exotic'

Thomas fears more clashes with protesters if his untitled documentary – which is already being dubbed ‘Lion King’ on a video posted on Facebook – is snapped up by a major television station.

He has already been warned by a security consultant that he might have acid thrown in his face.

“I did wince a bit when I watched Tiger King and worry that it might reflect badly on people like me, but I think a lot of people have sympathy for Joe," Thomas says.

“He has become a bit of a cult hero despite his shortcomings as a man.

“If he ever came out of prison there would be a lot of people supporting him as well as condemning him.”

Kidnap threats and warnings of acid attacks

Thomas says some of his earliest memories are of his animal trainer dad Tommy, now 65, and his animal trainer mum Marilyn Chipperfield, being targeted by welfare groups.

The threats continued right up until his mother died from a respiratory disease that he fears might have been coronavirus in December last year aged 64.

“I’ve been having issues with animal rights protesters my whole life," Thomas says.

“I remember watching it happening to my parents when I was a little kid with people shouting things like, I hope you die of cancer.

“Seven years ago someone rang my mum and threatened to kidnap her and you have to take these threats seriously and get the police involved.

“I’ve had nasty things shouted at me and I have lost count of how many times people have broken into the grounds here at night with malicious intentions. I always chase them off.

“I’ve never had anything physical with the protesters but I know people who have come to blows with men clad in balaclavas. I know one person who was slashed with a Stanley knife.

“I’ve had five death threats I can think of, most of them over social media. People have threatened to shoot me, behead me and burn me alive."

Killed by 8ft python's 'act of affection'

It is believed there are at least 250 wild cats being kept in private residences in the UK including servals, lynx, lions, leopards, pumas and cheetahs.

Monkeys, poisonous snakes, black widow spiders, exotic lizards, wolves, alligators, bears, an elephant and a giraffe are also registered as living in houses here, according to a search of the wild animal licenses handed out.

But experts fear there could be thousands more unregistered creatures hidden in British homes.

In 2017 exotic pet owner Dan Brandon was killed by the African rock python called Tiny he kept at his home in Hampshire.

The 31-year-old died of asphyxia after the 8ft long creature coiled around his chest and squeezed in what the coroner believed was an act of affection.

Last year another Brit called Andy Johnson, 50, revealed just how close he came to being seriously injured by Cuddles, one of the 12 pet crocodiles he keeps in a converted shed in Cambridgeshire.

“Cuddles isn’t that cuddly,” he said. “She took my fingers a few weeks ago.

“Her tooth went straight through my thumb nail and she took a chunk out of this finger. If she’d bitten my wrist, she’d have had my hand clean off.”

Born Free is calling for a review of the legislation covering the keeping of wild animals as pets, including the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

Dr Chris Draper, head of animal welfare and captivity at the charity, says: “The keeping of wild animals as pets is a growing concern.

“The widespread use of the internet has made it easier than ever to ‘order’ or purchase a wild animal without clarification as to where it has come from or how it should be cared for.”

Selling kittens for £5,000 a time

Former human resources executive Christine Courtney is another British big cat enthusiast.

Three years ago she quit her high-flying City job to fulfil her dream of breeding wild animals in her hometown of Salcombe in Devon.

Christine currently owns 10 exotic cats including various generations of savannah and two servals called Orley and Ozzy.

She can sell ‘higher generation’ kittens for up to £5,000 a time through her Amare Cats company.

Servals can leap 10ft in the air and reach speeds of 50mph.

Christine keeps hers in a 221 square metre enclosure and feeds them dead prey and raw meat bought from her local supermarket.

She warns people not to make snap purchases after viewing cute pictures of the felines on social media sites like Instagram.

The mum-of-one, 46, tells Sun Online: “It’s time-consuming looking after my cats because they need a lot of attention, but it is also hugely rewarding.

“Servals are elegant creatures and are about the size of a medium dog, so they are more manageable than bigger cats like a Lynx or a tiger.

“But they are also high energy and can be destructive if you try to keep them inside the house.

“They are not going to spend all day sitting in your windowsill like a domestic cat and while you can walk them with a harness, you definitely cannot let them off the lead outside of their enclosure.

“Servals need lots of attention, socialising and care or they will revert to what they are like in the wild.

“I have heard of exotic cat owners who cannot even step foot in their enclosures because the animals are too unpredictable.”

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