Mr Busch, who gained fame with his Lion Man TV show, was ordered to make the payment by Employment Relations Authority member Yvonne Oldfield, who found him guilty of serious breaches of his employment obligations.
The sum included $10,657 for a damaged bandsaw, $10,742 for the loss of equipment vital in the upkeep of the park, $3712 in damages after he took a fee paid by a photographer to take pictures of lions at the park and failed to hand it over to the park, plus interest.
Mr Busch opened Zion in Whangarei in 2002, and went on to front TV hit show The Lion Man.
Four years later his mother, Patricia Busch, offered to help her son refinance the park.
As part of the deal, Mr Busch was asked to resign as a director and sign over his voting rights to his mother.
The couple's relationship deteriorated and Mr Busch was dismissed from Zion in 2008.
He then took High Court action in a bid to regain control of the park but later withdrew the action.
Ms Oldfield said there was no doubt Mr Busch had breached the terms of his employment by withholding property that should rightfully have been in the possession of Zion and that damages should cover the loss of use of the equipment.
She said the photographer's fee should have been paid to Zion, not to Mr Busch, and he was "in breach of his duties by retaining it".
She reserved the question of costs and further damages over the loss of use of other items.
Patricia Busch is operating the park, while Mr Busch tries to revive his TV career by working on a new show in South Africa. He is actively fund raising to try and buy back the park.
