Steve Irwin's best friend has not been at the zoo for 10 years amid family feud

Steve Irwin’s best friend and collaborator has spoken out about his relationship with the late Crocodile Hunter’s family now—and revealed he hasn’t visited Australia Zoo in a decade.

TV producer John Stainton is widely credited with launching the Aussie star onto the global stage after first seeing footage of him with crocodiles in the 1980s.

But following the wildlife warrior’s death 13 years ago, Mr Stainton quickly lost touch with his friend’s wife Terri and children—Bindi, 21, and 15-year-old Robert.

Moving on

He told Daily Mail the working relationship was mutually ended because it was for him to ‘do other things’.

“It [was] just the end of an era,' Mr Stainton explained.

“As the family were going to do their own thing, I was doing my thing. We were just on different paths.”

However, despite no longer having ties to Australia Zoo, Mr Stainton is adamant there is 'no animosity' between him and Steve’s family.

“We parted company, we were going in different directions, that the only thing there. My job with Steve was finished.

“People are good at rumours and gossip and all that stuff and I'm not interested.”

While Mr Stainton’s stance is staunchly neutral, the same is likely not true for Steve’s extended relatives.

Amid a family feud

The family feud first resurfaced last month when patriarch Bob Irwin revealed he did not expect an invitation to Bindi’s upcoming wedding to Chandler Powell.

This falling out is believed to have been sparked two years after Steve’s death over differences of opinion with Terri and his son’s best mate Wes Carrion.

Now, Steve’s older sister has joined in the chorus of criticism towards how Australia Zoo - which Bob founded in the 1970s - has been run over the past decade.

Joy Muscillo spoke to Daily Mail outside of her father’s property in rural Queensland, calling the relatives’ distance towards one another a 'very sad' situation.

“I keep away from all that,” she said. “It's just very sad... family stuff.”

Mrs Muscillo is believed to have once been in charge of the zoo’s foodcourt while her husband, Frank, was the park’s general manager.

However, he was reportedly forced from the job by Terri in 2016—a move which led to Joy and their children also leaving the organisation just months later.

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