What are you doing after retiring? Former grower Jan Knoppert started his own zoo - or at least, he upgraded his backyard to resemble one. Hidden away in the outskirts of 's-Gravenzande, Netherlands, is a zoo with animals that do not even roam around Blijdorp, Omroep West discovered.
The 88-year-old former horticulturist collected a lot of exotic animals among the greenhouses in recent years. Among other things, Jan made a good financial hit with the cultivation of Gypsophila, which he now uses to pay for his hobby.
All these animals have a price tag, made possible by the empire built up by the former gardener. Jan Knoppert started in the sixties in Honselersdijk with a greenhouse full of Stephanotis. This white flower with its sultry scent is an essential part of a serious bridal bouquet.
Then other types of greenery followed, with the icing on the cake being the Gypsophila, a crop from the carnation family. As one of the few gardeners with these flowers, he made a big financial profit. A formula for success.
Only when the large-scale switch to the cultivation of amaryllises did almost anything become possible for the animal lover. Once he stopped working, he left behind eighteen healthy horticultural companies. All the money and the animals make him happy, although his love for his wife remains priceless. 'She calls the shots inside the house, but I do it outside with the animals.'
Buses full of nursery classes and seniors who have a day out with the Zonnebloem have visited the zoo over the years. All those visits are now much less, because it is becoming physically more difficult for the 88-year-old animal rights activist.
Nevertheless, the talkative Jan is happy to make an exception for Dutch Omroep West. 'Do you see that silver pheasant?', he says at the first cage. 'It has made other animals crazy in its enthusiasm.' As a result, the bird is separated from the large group in another cage. 'It is now being punished and is being separated.'